She’s Graduating, Thank you!

Hello everyone,
On Tuesday May 28 at about 3:30 my mother woke me up from a nap breaking the unexpected news that I will not be able to walk for graduation on June 2. My counselor called explaining that because of my absences to my 2nd period gym class I would not be able to attend graduation but would have to retake the class over the summer and get my diploma then. My gym class and scheduling has been a problem since the beginning of the semester. I didn’t have a gym class in my schedule for about 2 weeks and if I hadn’t known from knowledge of a mentor of mine that I needed the class to graduate it wouldn’t have gotten put in my schedule without my bringing it to my counselors attention. Prior to entering gym I had an athletic study hall because I managed basketball. I only went to the study hall a few times because they told me I didn’t need to check in if I was going to a teacher or the tutoring center. From there on, when the basketball season finished, normally they let us when it’s time to go back to gym but I didn’t get this information until my teacher Mr. Sakellaris reached out to me to come to class. By this time I’d already unknowingly missed about a week or so of gym class. I started to come to gym on a regular basis with a few days of absences or tardy’s like any other student. About 2 weeks ago I asked my counselor if my attendance for gym would be an issue, he went to count my absence from when I entered gym (which on paper was the second or third week of March) and emailed my teacher asking him about my grade and attendance. My gym teacher assured that I was passing his class and coming to class. My counselor then came and told me I did not have an NP for the class and I didn’t have to worry about it having an effect on me graduating. I feel as though I’m being punished despite my efforts to clean up my act. Black students only endure this stern treatment when it comes to attendance or at oprfhs. To not let me walk is punitive considering that my teacher passed me and gave his recommendation for me to graduate with a C in the class. I would miss out on the opportunity to celebrate 4 hard working years that I struggled and wanted to give up numerous time but didn’t. I would miss out on the opportunity to graduate with my friends, take pictures with my family and teachers, and say that I got to experience graduation. I even got to pick up my cap and gown and decorated my cap. There are many things I could have done differently and attendance is definitely one of them but I should not be robbed of this milestone. My counselor and dean have been very lenient by not suspending me for my attendance or putting me in in-school and other ways I will never forget. However, in this case I believe there needs to be some administrative oversight in this decision. My counselor told my mother and I that he would call us back but I haven’t received a calI, I called a couple times today, left a voicemail, and went up to the school, and got no response. I then went to the asisstant principal, the head of counselors and deans' office and was told she was out for the day. I will be there tomorrow morning to further discuss the issue at hand in person. Thank you in advance.
With Love,
Makaila Dean