Too Late, Too Bad
By Kikilia Kojin
Many students know that after five tardies, you get a detention for every additional tardy. Then after ten tardies, the consequences vary from detention, in school suspension (ISS), community service and a parent meeting.
According to Vice Principal, Mr. Waclawski, last year’s tardy policy was rough. “The only real problem last year were tardies. We don’t have fights or bullying or swearing. It’s changed. It used to be too unwieldy and loose. I had to go through packets, checking students attendance each week and comparing them. It was time-consuming.”
Mr. Waclawski further explained how previously, after three tardies, a student would get a detention, resulting in a lot more kids with detention. Luckily, changes were made that had positive results. “This year, it’s simple and efficient enough. It’s new, but kids are smart enough and they get it. It goes back to zero at the end of the semester. It’s not too harsh and it’s going smoothly, but it’s still early. . .”
It may be efficient, but it does not go without faults. “It’s a little bit ridiculous. It depends on the person, but during first period, students need to walk and get transportation to school. They shouldn’t punish a child for not being able to make it to class on time. How late you are should be the time of your detention,” defended Grace Steiner, a senior.
“They need to be more relaxed and have teachers be more realistic for those who don’t deserve tardies. It depends on circumstances. They need to take it more on a case to case basis. Assess each situation differently. Who didn’t want to be there vs. who couldn’t make it.” Adella Sunmark, a sophomore, explained.
Students and teachers have different opinions, but they all can agree that it’s a system they can work with, even though it’s not perfect. “[The] whole point of punishment is to change behavior. We want kids to come to class on time. We’ll use any punishment till they stop being late, using a combination if detention doesn’t work. No student has ten tardies, yet,” Mr. Waclawski concluded, agreeing that this new system has improved attendance and behavior.