Aidan Duke and Carter Duke

Writers

Even though the Covid-19 epidemic has subsided and students have been able to return to school as they once did, it still has had a lasting impact on Marlow High School.

Before Covid-19, the expectation for students was to come to school everyday with the only exceptions being vomiting and fever.  

However, when Covid-19 began many students had to miss school because they were either sick, around someone that was infected, or were too fearful to attend.

One person that believes the virus has affected school attendance and many other key factors at school is Marlow High School Principal Bryan Brantley.

“Since the Covid epidemic, every time a parent’s child was not feeling well, they would miss more days than they would have years ago,” Brantley thoughtfully commented. “The attendance levels need to stay consistently high because if a student misses ten percent, they will be considered a chronic absentee.”

The state of Oklahoma defines chronic absenteeism as missing ten percent or more of the scheduled school days causing backlash for the school on their annual report card. 

To better match the state attendance guidelines, Marlow Public Schools changed their attendance policy from requiring students to be here 85 percent of the time to 90 percent of the time before facing the consequence of not earning credit.  

With all of these new changes, students now have more opportunities to become more active in school and work towards the new schools motto: “Hard Work, Integrity, and Perseverance.”

These changes include exemptions where students potentially have the chance to not take semester tests if they have good grades and low absences.

These changes have already affected many of the students throughout the high school campus. 

One of the students that has benefitted from all the changes the school has adopted is freshman Lincoln Smith.

“I like that they brought back exemptions because I now have the opportunity to potentially not have to do semester tests,” expressed Lincoln. “I feel that the exemptions will motivate some students and overall be a good way to help them to get better grades.”

Another student who has been impacted by the new motto and the reviving of exemptions as well is Senior Chesnie Stewart.

 “I am beyond excited about exemptions being brought back,” Stewart stated. “I believe myself and my fellow classmates will be absent less, as well as try harder in class to make the grades needed to earn the exemption.”

Everyone is eager to see how the year will unfold and if the changes placed in the school will be a gateway to success for the new year.