The new school tardy policy no longer requires students to go to the Attendance window when marked late. Instead, teachers will hand out a “tardy notice” to students and make attendance lunch detention the students’ own responsibility.
Last year’s policy regarding lunch detention sparked a lot of controversy amongst students, with many unhappy about the immediate detention that came with a small tardy. Additionally, the walk to attendance only made students feel as though they were missing out on more class time after already being late.
The lunch detention policy was very unpopular amongst students last year. It was upsetting for many to hear that even a two-minute tardy could have them spend half of their lunchtime in a classroom.
“30 minutes, that makes sense, but I don’t think you should get a lunch detention for being two minutes late,” says Ava Hill (11).
Despite student complaints, the policy used last year was proven to be more than effective with Aliso cutting down student tardiness tremendously in the last year. It has been highly favorable amongst staff members, specifically teachers.
“It’s a lot more convenient now as a teacher, students aren’t as late anymore,” says Mrs. Rose.
The biggest problem that remained was the extended absence that came with students picking up late slips at the attendance window. The new change this year has been more favorable amongst all staff members for this reason.
“Last year set the tone for this year, students know what to expect now” says Mrs. Newkirk.
The majority of students don’t seem to mind the change either, despite many still being unhappy with the lunch detention rule. It makes more sense for teachers to be the ones to give out tardy slips for the classes students were late to.
“I’m really glad we don’t have to go up to the attendance office anymore, because I’ve had to do it a couple of times and it’s so annoying. It wastes like 15-20 minutes of the time that I could have spent in class learning, not waiting for a slip,” says Shine Lee (12).
Currently, the biggest issue regarding tardiness is the constant changes to the bell schedule with minimal notice for returning students. Many students are being marked tardy while learning to adjust to the new Monday schedule, with the new start time being 9:10 a.m. compared to last year’s 9:15 a.m.
“For me, the five minutes makes a huge difference. It’s what determines if I’m late to school or not,” says Al Kuznetsov (12).
In terms of effectiveness in preventing tardiness and absences, the new policy seems to be doing very well so far. It has majority approval from both staff and students alike. In terms of announcements and warnings, the students would prefer it if the administration gave them a little bit more time to adjust in advance.
