By Claudia Juarez

Loss. Of. Credit. It’s three words that students dread and fear to hear. Sometimes it sneaks up on a student when doctor’s visits get in the way, and sometimes students simply run out of days in a class that they are intentionally missing. Whatever the case, it’s a serious problem, especially for seniors, and could have disastrous effects.

Administrators like Assistant Principal Lorena Sandoval face the issue every day and work to educated students and parents about the LOC process.

“Even missing a single class period can cause a loss of credit,” Sandoval said. “And if that student fails to come to Saturday school or intersession to make up that lost time, they may have to retake the course.”

How easy is it to obtain loss of credit? Quite simple. A student only has to exceed the number of absences allowed by the state in the semester per class, which is nine absences.

“Is it frustrating? Absolutely,” said Yuzaleth Perez, El Dorado’s C.I.S. coordinator. “The school has over 400 LOC contracts and not only is it an abundance of paperwork, but it is especially frustrating when students do not have all of their contract information, it’s a hair-pulling situation.”

However, not all loss of credit cases involves the occasional ditching and slacking. For example, if a student is ill for a long period of time or is unable to come to school due to personal reasons – then the case will be referred to the Attendance Review Committee.

“If a student was ill for a week or more, the student and his parents must hand over all doctors’ notes and paperwork to be able to hand it over to the ARC,” Perez said. “Once all paperwork is given, the ARC makes decisions based on the student’s academic progress, as well as former attendance records. If that student has a good record, the ARC can either remove all loss of credit or lessen the amount.”

The ARC is responsible for all decisions involving credit recovery.

How can a student make up loss of credit? Well, there’s Saturday school that students can attend from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and they can also attend school during intersession to recover the credit.

“Students can go to their teachers for credit recovery, but only hours spent with teachers that teach core classes will be accepted,” Sandoval said. “Then, the teachers must develop a lesson plan that the student follows for that day.”

Students can also go during the summer school session to make up loss of credit; however, if the credit is excessive, the student may have to retake that course if they failed to regain credit lost.

“Students don’t realize that one day this could cost them their diploma,” Sandoval said. “The school provides them many opportunities, but ultimately it is up to them to regain their credit, and eliminate the risk of not graduating.”

Though most upperclassmen do make an effort to eliminate their loss of credit, many do not realize the severity that even an hour of loss of credit from their lowerclassmen years can have on their future.

For more loss of credit (LOC) information, check out the Student Code of Conduct, pages 9 – 11 or contact Lorena Sandoval at 937-3200.