In the off chance you have an emergency, please do not freak out. Instead, proceed calmly to the attendance office where they will gladly assist your needs and send you on your way. What’s that? You don’t have a preexisting note signed by your parents who could have foreseen this situation? Forget it– you better hope your parents have the time and patience to come pick you up from school.

As Perry strengthens their regulations this year, the attendance office seems to be hit the hardest. Tardiness, truancy, and taking off from campus are carefully watched by administration to guarantee that children are taking full advantage of their educational time.

Differing from last year, the only way to get off campus is with a handwritten note from a guardian that is then checked by attendance. Long gone are the easy days of emails and phone calls when parents actually had control over prophesied events.

But what is the purpose of these notes? Authenticity? Unlike Ferris Bueller, students would likely rather forge a note, than a phone call for an excused absence. Legal documentation? It’s borderline comical the amount of students that have perfected their parents  signatures over the years than face actual interaction with them.

Often, the school will also call home to ensure that the note is authentic. If attendance is going to exhaust their energy by calling the parents anyway, then explain the reason that this doesn’t work in the first place.

We’re saving our students by killing the environment and our wallets one extra car trip at a time.