Editorial: They better watch out

Saturday, Dec. 24, 2005 | 7:58 a.m.

Forget Santa's naughty-or-nice list. Spring Valley High School students who miss a school day will get a call that same evening from Principal Bob Gerye -- no matter what the season.

The Las Vegas Sun reported earlier this week that Gerye uses an electronic attendance system that automatically calls the homes of students who are absent from school. Gerye's recorded message cheerfully notifies whomever picks up the receiver that the student wasn't in class.

The system can determine whether the calls are hang-ups, many of which Gerye assumes are students who have intercepted the call before Mom or Dad can answer. That accounts for as many as 30 percent of the calls on some nights.

But most families seem to appreciate the notification -- at least, the parents who didn't know their children were out of school (and probably a few siblings who are gleeful that a sneaky brother or sister got caught). Perhaps fewer calls would be intercepted by students if they automatically contacted a parent at work, rather than at home. Employers would have to be tolerant. But it likely isn't a call a student would want to have made more than once or twice.

According to a January story by the Sun, the Children's Advocacy Alliance, a nonprofit group that studies youth issues, ranked Nevada 49th nationally for its rate of high school completion and also for its high school dropout rate. It's too soon to determine whether Spring Valley High School's calling system has reduced absences, but Gerye said, "The kids know somebody is watching them." And he knows if they've been bad or good -- even if he doesn't wear a red suit.