A new tardy system was implemented after spring break that allows students to accumulate three tardies every nine weeks, instead of the prior tardy system which allowed students five tardies each semester.
Assistant Principal Craig McMillen said this new system is a way to create a fresh start to being all in and having a more structured tardy system. This decision had nothing to do with COVID, he added.
McMillen added that this new system was a suggestion from Pete Liptrap, school and home attendance. McMillen explained that limiting the tardies to each quarter will allow for conversations to occur more quickly than waiting until the end of the semester.
“If we wait until a student gets to their 12th tardy in a semester, that’s a lot of tardies,” he explained. “But if we get to six in the nine weeks, then that gets that student to me faster and we can start to problem solve.”
Junior Molly Esque said that she thinks the new tardy system has been put in place at the wrong time.
“Fourth quarter, students are already stressed about exams and making sure they have high grades for the end of the quarter, and the added stress of the new tardy rule is unnecessary,” she said.
Esque said the root of the problem will not be solved by a conversation with McMillen, but on the student’s own agenda.
“If people were typically late even in hybrid, they are going to be late more now that we are all in,” she said. “People don’t mean to be late, just time goes really fast in the morning.”
Junior Pierce Grossman said the tardy system is not fair for the students who are consistently tardy to school in the morning since it could be due to transportation issues.
“The tardies often stem from lack of transportation to school,” he said. “By making it three tardies instead of five, you don’t really take that into account.”
Grossman said he will be personally affected by the new tardy system, as he said transportation to school has always been hard for him since he does not have a consistent ride to school.
“There are times where my mom isn’t able to take me, so I have to ask other people,” he said. “I always get to school, but sometimes it takes so long to figure things out that I end up being late, and the new tardy system doesn’t account for that.”
