By: Michael Wang <[email protected]>

*Editor’s Note: The wrong due date for the ISTEP+ excused absence forms appears in the recent issue of the HiLite. Please note that the proper due date is Sept. 13.*

Last year during ISTEP+ week, senior Gauri Bajpai went out for breakfast with her friends one morning. She went to Clay Terrace another morning. She also slept in until around 10 on the final morning.

Bajpai’s plans for this year, however, may change. The school will administer the ISTEP+ on Sept. 18, Sept. 19, and Sept. 20. She can still prearrange to miss Tuesday and Thursday’s dates, but for different reasons. As for Wednesday she would need a doctor’s note to miss school.

According to Administrative Assistant Amy Skeens-Benton, who was among a group of administrators and teachers who initiated the policy this year, juniors and seniors can fill out Attendance Verification Forms to get prearranged on Sept. 18 and 20 during ISTEP+ week in order to do either a college visitation or a job shadow. The forms are due Sept. 13. This will not go against students’ Skip-a-Final, but if students miss those days for another reason, such as if they call in ill, it will go against their Skip-a-Final.

However, policies regarding attendance will change for the Wednesday of ISTEP+ week, Sept. 19. In order to provide more structured activities for the students, the school requires that juniors and seniors have a doctor’s note to miss Wednesday. This is because there are activities planned for the juniors and seniors on that day, according to Skeens-Benton. Juniors have SAT prep activities in their assigned testing rooms (ATRs) for two hours and seniors have cap and gown and graduation information for one hour, and then they have a motivational program that they are scheduled to attend.

Skeens-Benton said that the committee chose Wednesday for the junior and senior activities because that day ISTEP+ testing is the shortest and is only from 7:50 to 10:10 a.m. On Tuesday testing is from 7:50 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and on Thursday testing is from 7:50 to 11:03 a.m. Sept. 17 is a regular Gold Day and Sept. 21 is a regular Blue Day.

If juniors and seniors attend school on Tuesday or Thursday, they must be in their ATR, which becomes a study hall. The school will have an ATR run-through next Thursday, so during second session of SRT all students will report to their ATR and stay for the remainder of SRT. During that time, juniors and seniors will have a regular SRT study period and freshmen and sophomores will receive information about the ISTEP+ test.

Skeens-Benton said she, other administrators and teachers formed the new policy this year for time legitimacy reasons, so students spend their time doing things they legitimately should be doing. The activities were placed during ISTEP+ week because according to Skeens-Benton, “I don’t think it is safe for kids to be just out on the town without a structured activity. Instead of taking kids out of SRT that we would usually do during the school year, this is the structured time that students don’t have anything so let’s put the activities for juniors and seniors in there.”

“The doctor’s note is just for Wednesday,” Skeens-Benton said, “Juniors and seniors can live coming to school for two hours.”