Staff writer
Excuse Brenda Odgers if she is a stickler when it comes to academics; or don’t.
It doesn’t really matter to the first-year principal at Marion High School.
What does matter is the students who walk her halls have the best education possible.
Her multiple changes to the school handbook since being hired this past summer show she is serious about putting academics first.
Saturday school, cell phones, and academic probation top the list of Odgers’ changes.
In previous years, it took two failing classes to keep students out of school activities.
This year it is just one.
Every Monday, a report is printed that shows each student’s grades in his or her respective classes.
One “F” results in academic probation, which means a student must meet with that teacher for two hours outside of school time, that same week.
If those two hours are met, and the grade is raised, the student is off probation. If the grade remains an “F” the next week, he or she will not be allowed to participate in any school activity the rest of the week and until the grade is brought up to a “D” or higher.
Odgers, who says she loves sports, still believes academics always come first.
“How does missing class for a school activity help a student who is failing?” Odgers asked.
If the student does raise his or her grade in that first week, but fails to meet with the teacher for the two outside hours, it turns into a discipline issue instead of an academic one according to Odgers.
While the student can still participate in activities, he or she must attend two hours of Saturday school.
“I am going to get Saturday school rolling again,” Odgers said.
She also said teachers have signed up to facilitate every Saturday school the rest of the semester.
Another instance that can land a student in class on Saturday is the use of cell phones during school hours.
Odgers knows it is a safety issue for students, especially those who drive to school, to have cell phones, but they aren’t needed between 8:20 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
The first time a student is caught with a cell phone, it is confiscated for the day and he or she receives two hours of Saturday school.
The second offense turns into confiscation and four hours of Saturday school, the third is a meeting with a parent and the loss of the phone all semester, and the fourth is another meeting and loss of the phone for the entire year.
Odgers said she does not believe in keeping the phone, because it is not hers and she does not pay the bill. However, she can confiscate it during school hours.
Confiscation means those students who have committed the offense three or four times will have to turn their phones into the office when they come to school, and will receive them back at the end of the day.
Odgers said parents would be receiving a sheet in the mail that lists all the changes and their consequences. They also will receive a handbook, one different from the one students got at enrollment, that is complete with all the changes.
Other handbook changes:
- Each student will be allowed seven excused absences per semesters without penalty. Each one after that will need to be accompanied with a doctor’s note, or have Odgers’ approval.
- A student who misses Saturday school must show up the next week for double his or her original time. On the third offense, a student will receive OSS, and not be allowed to participate in school activities that day.
- Just one unexcused absence will result in a Saturday school to make up the equal number of hours missed by the student. The third offense will result in OSS.
- Misuse of technology, including computers or PDAs, will not be taken lightly. The first offense will result in a two-week loss of technology privileges. The next few offenses will include Saturday school, and depending on the severity of the actions, police can be called at anytime.