Active Pickup For The Inactive Student
It’s about ten minutes before the end of the school day at the high school. A dad walks into the front office. It is about five weeks into the school year.
Dad: “I’m having trouble figuring out how my kid is doing. We don’t get report cards; we never talk to the teacher… It’s hard to know where [Kid’s Name] stands.”
Me: “We can help with that. Let’s pull up his file. What’s your child’s full name?”
Dad: “[Kid’s Full Name].”
Me: “…I’m not finding that name. What class did you say he’s in?”
Dad: “You know what, I don’t know. This is what I’m talking about. I don’t know much about his school and what’s going on. That’s why I’m here.”
I check the system again. Nothing.
Me: “I’m sorry, I can’t find him at all. Are you sure he’s currently enrolled at this school?”
Dad: “What?! Of course he is. I drop him off right out the front every morning and pick him up every afternoon. In fact—”
He turns toward the door just as a kid is passing nearby.
Dad: “—there he is now. [Kid’s Name]! Get in here.”
The kid shuffles in, clutching his backpack, head down. I look at him, then back at the dad.
Me: “[Kid’s Name]… can you tell us how long it’s been since you actually attended class here?”
Long silence.
Kid: “…I used to be enrolled.”
Dad: “Used to?”
Kid: “I stopped coming.”
Dad: “Stopped coming?! When?”
Kid: “Uh… three weeks.”
The dad stares at him. His composure is remarkable considering what the kid just admitted.
Dad: “So, where have you been going every day?”
Kid: “I… walk up the street. Hang out at the mall.”
Another pause. Then:
Dad: “You’ve been doing this for weeks?”
Kid: “…Yeah.”
I gently step back in after having confirmed something on the system.
Me: “Just to explain how this works: after three consecutive weeks of non-attendance, we contact home to ask whether the student intends to continue or be removed from the roll.”
The dad looks sharply at his son.
Dad: “Did you answer the phone?”
The kid nods, barely.
Kid: “I said I was sick.”
Me: “We allow a short grace period after that. If attendance doesn’t resume, or we can’t confirm continued enrollment, the student is removed from the roll. That’s why I couldn’t find him on the system, as it only lists active students.”
I click a few keys.
Me: “That happened here after those three weeks.”
Dad: “We never got anything.”
Me: “We send a Discontinuation of Studies letter to the home address. It has the school logo on the envelope.”
The kid suddenly finds the floor fascinating.
Dad: “…Did you intercept the mail?”
The kid doesn’t answer. Which answers the question. I nod, impressed despite myself.
Me: “Honestly? That’s… unusually thorough. Most students don’t even know this process exists.”
The dad exhales slowly.
Dad: “So he hasn’t been a student here for how long?”
Me: “Just one week.”
Dad: “And you’ve been going to the mall instead.”
Kid: “…Yeah.”
Dad: “But you’re here now? Oh, wait, pick-up is in a few minutes. You come back here to get picked up by me?”
Kid: “…Yeah.”
There is a long and uncomfortable silence. I really have no idea what else to say in the moment.
Dad: “We’re going home.”
The kid nods and follows him out.
The next day, the dad shows up with his son to re-enroll him, and asks us to call him anytime if he misses even a single class. He’s also to be informed of any detentions that might impact the time he gets home because “his a** is grounded for the next year.” He also had a s***-ton of extra homework to do to catch up with his classmates.
