As the leaves begin to change color and fall sweaters start to make an appearance, anxiety over missing school during the High Holidays sets in for many Jewish teens.

While school breaks and days off are typically scheduled to coincide with major Christian holidays such as Christmas, Easter and Good Friday, the same accommodations are often not afforded to Jewish students.

Jewish high school students in the United States face a difficult choice: Either they attend school and miss the observance and celebration of the High Holidays, or they participate in High Holiday services and rituals under a cloud of worry about missing important classroom work.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) offers valuable resources for helping schools and students balance these competing demands.

“Diligent efforts should be made in schools to accommodate observance of the High  Holidays,” said Karen Aroesty, regional director of the ADL Missouri and Southern Illinois. “We’re looking for both sides of the conversation between students and teachers to be aware, sensitive and to anticipate a great deal of much-needed conversation on the subject. We are always available to provide guidance. I can go in as an advocate and ensure that students raise these issues early enough so that educators and administrators understand what helps and what doesn’t.”

Fortunately, many St. Louis area teenagers attend public and private schools that offer flexible absence policies for religious reasons. Students, for example, in the Ladue School District can expect their absences during the High Holidays to be met with understanding and respect from administrators and faculty.

“We are very aware that a significant percentage of our students are Jewish,” said Susan Dielmann, director of communications for the district. “At the high school level, the dates for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are included in an overall reminder to staff each year [so that] in no case would a student who is away from school for religious purposes be expected to do schoolwork during the time of the religious observance.”

In Clayton, accommodating students missing school to observe a religious holiday is largely at the teacher’s discretion.

“Each year we remind teachers about the need to be sensitive to religious observances and that some may require obligations the evening before that may preclude a student from studying or doing work,” said Dan Gutchewsky, principal of Clayton High School. “We allow students and teachers to arrange make-up assignments and tests on an individual basis that is mutually agreeable.”

Clayton High sophomore Daphne Singer stressed the importance of working with each teacher on an individual basis.

“I have found that the teachers are great when it comes to flexibility regarding assignments and work during the High Holidays,” she said. “In high school, there are assignments typically given a one-day late pass or more, depending on how strict the teacher is.”

Private schools in the St. Louis area are also taking meaningful steps to serve as role models. For example, John Burroughs School closes for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

“Approximately 10 years ago, we started to close for the High Holidays because we had about 20 percent of the student body absent as well as 10 percent of the faculty,” said Andy Abbott, John Burroughs’ head of school. “For any religious holiday, students are instructed to make arrangements with their teachers ahead of time, and those absences are always excused and students are given the time they need to make up work, which frequently includes the day after a Jewish holiday.”

Some Jewish parents at Whitfield School expressed satisfaction with the school’s policies on absences for the Jewish holidays. They believe their children’s religious needs are effectively accommodated.

“Each teacher works directly with the student and his/her family in order to ensure that Holy Days can remain sacred and not be tainted by the need to engage in schoolwork while observing or celebrating,” said B’nai Amoona Rabbi Carnie Rose, who is the parent of two Whitfield students.

“Teachers make themselves readily available before and after school to help students catch up on missed materials,” said Jack Kanterman, a sophomore at MICDS.

Now in his fourth year at the school, Jack emphasized that he never felt excluded from important school events due to religious observances.

“There has not been a field trip or major school function scheduled on a Jewish holiday,” Jack said. “There are very few Jewish students in my class at MICDS. Even so, I believe the teachers and administration respect the different religions and their holidays.”

Many students fear that missing school because of High Holiday observance could be mistaken for a lack of interest in schoolwork and might jeopardize their grades. The ADL actively mediates these issues.

“Even at the community-college level and in university graduate programs, I have dealt with teachers who were restrictive and punitive regarding student absences for the Jewish holidays,” Aroesty said.

Fortunately, many local students attend secondary schools that are more enlightened when it comes to absences for Jewish holidays and allow students to be absent without penalty and even provide a reasonable amount of time to make up missed assignments.