Add another letter to H1N1–
an 'I' for incomplete
As the effects of this year's flu season become evident, the 'I' for incomplete has become a significantly more common grade on report cards than it has in the past.
An incomplete is the result of a student missing projects, assignments or exams, and not having them finished by the time teachers are required to submit quarterly grades. According to the "Student/Parent Handbook and Calendar," students have three weeks after the end of the marking period to complete and submit all incomplete work. A teacher must then change the incomplete no later than three weeks after the cutoff date.
Records Clerk Susan Buckler said that just two days after report cards came out, 46 grade changes were submitted by teachers. Of those, 25 were due to incompletes given for illness. In contrast, after the first quarter of last year, only 27 grade changes were submitted in total, a mere 10 of which were due to incompletes.
While the numbers are already high for this year, Buckler said she expects more grade changes to come in as teachers and students still have another week to make changes.
"Some teachers have 15 to 20 students with incompletes," said Buckler. "They have even asked for the grading period to be moved ahead, but it would affect many for the sake of a few."
Students miss school every year for a variety of reasons, but according to Attendance Office paraprofessional Mary Jo Lauscher, this first quarter has shown a significant increase in absences due to illness.
"It's definitely due to the flu, which has hit earlier than last year," said Lauscher.
Attendance Office paraprofessional Judy Weber said second quarter is usually a little worse because the seasonal flu usually hits then, but this year could be different.
"Second quarter we also have more holidays and breaks, which give people chances to recover," said Weber.
With seven classes and extracurricular activities, missing school while sick can make the catch-up process seem nearly impossible. Fortunately, senior Andrew McCoy, who had both bronchitis and swine flu in a two-week span, said all of his teachers were understanding.
"The time during swine flu was really hard because I was so tired at night, I couldn't work long enough to make stuff up, so I was still falling behind," said McCoy. "It was hard at first, but I had to accept that there was no way I could make it all up in time. I had two days before the end of the quarter."
McCoy said that while all his teachers were helpful, they differed in their handling of the situation. In Advanced Placement Biology, where he received an incomplete, McCoy missed an entire unit and a test before returning.
"I had to make up that test and write-up two labs," said McCoy. "But Mr. (James) Adams let me take care of other things first, and I managed to get a good grade in the class."
In confronting issues such as swine flu, schools really don't have much experience. Still, Weber said South has done a good job of preparing students, and working with them to make the situation more manageable.
"The school and media have kept us well informed," said Weber. "There are free hand sanitizers and posters in the hall, and they've been very proactive in encouraging people to stay home."
Ben Boyce is a senior at Grosse Pointe South High School. A version of this story appeared previously in the school newspaper, The Tower.
