So I'm in charge of school attendance now. I used to just be the "Administrator-of Attendance-Office-Oversight." I was just the guy the A.O. went to when they needed help. Now, by decree of my immediate superiors, and in light of the recent rise in attendance problems*, I am now running the Attendance Office. They don't just want me there for support; they want me to fix the whole damn problem. On top of everything else I have to do around here (which increases week by week, depending on how capable I seem at things), the last thing I have time for is to overhaul something as basic as attendance services. Moreover, there's a quiet push by a group of teachers to take them out of the attendance enforcement equation. So not only am I reinventing the system, I have to make it administration-topheavy.
The real kicker here? I think I figured out how to do it.
* When I say problems, I mean that our overall attendance has slipped from 96% to about 94%. If ever there was a need for some "big picture" thinking . . .