Recently, our school’s tardy rate has become a serious problem and the current discipline method proved to be ineffective. The old system was immediately sentencing late students to lunch detention and then further ramifications after more. The school has tried using incentives such as an ice cream party for the grade with the lowest amount of tardies. This has not been as effective as what the administration had hoped, so they have decided to adopt a new policy.

The new policy has led to mixed opinions on the topic. Some believe that this will hopefully lower or even stop unnecessary tardies altogether, while others believe that it is an unfair punishment. Administrators and staff believe that the new policy gives the teacher more control, while also taking some of the load off of the administration.

“One of the things we’ve [administrators] have noticed in the past is the previous tardy policy mainly fell on my shoulders,” said Dr. Mac. “That’s kind of the purpose of the new plan was to allow teachers a little bit more of an active role.”

The majority of students have yet to hear of this new policy, and a few possess strong opinions on the subject. How will I get to class on time every day? What will I do to make sure I’m not tardy? Those are the questions many of the students are asking, but the only answer they receive is to ensure they’re not the ones who come in late.

“I don’t think it’s fair,” said sophomore Tyler Harbin. “Kids don’t care about coming to class on time and also don’t care about a teacher-directed consequence.” When asked if he was going to try harder to be on time he replied, “Yes, absolutely, I don’t want to have to deal with whatever kind of consequences my teacher would have in store for me.”

With this change, the administration has noted a significant decrease in the amount of student tardiness. As the student body learns of the new policy, hopefully, students will take more of an initiative to make it to class on time. It is difficult to predict how students would feel about a new tardy policy as individual reactions will vary.

“You [students] all have to understand that school is a job and you have to be at your job on time,” said Attendance Clerk Beth Zettlemoyer. “If you’re late or just don’t show up, you can get fired.”

Some students may welcome the change and see it as a positive step towards promoting punctuality and responsibility. Others, however, may feel frustrated or resentful about the stricter rules and view the policy as unfair or overly harsh.

“We [administrators] can’t just fire you from school,” said Zettlemoyer. “But we’re trying to teach you the ramifications and how to be a responsible adult.”