In the past few weeks, administrators and staff members have been tightening up on the tardy policy. Disciplinary actions have been used, but the policy has not yet been finalized.

Some students support the new policy changes, while others find some of the tools being used by the administration, such as hall sweeps, are detrimental to learning.

“I don’t think [the hall sweeps are] effective, because it’s taking more time out of your education,” junior Sargine Joseph said.  “When you’re late, you’re supposed to go straight to class, but the hall sweeps add ten minutes more.”

The administrative team’s goal is to get the school to a point where students are not seen wandering the halls after the bell rings.  There are a few reasons why this has been such a focus this year, but generally they are trying to facilitate a healthy learning environment.

One of the major reasons for having a stricter tardy policy is to prevent students from missing the all-important beginning of a lesson.  If you are late to class, you are almost certain to miss the framing of the lesson, not know what is going on, and miss the reason why you are being taught the concept.

“I definitely think that we have raised awareness, both with staff and with students, about the expectation that you’re in class on time,” assistant school administrator Steven Orders said.

The current policy states that the first time you are tardy, you get a warning. The second time, you get a phone call home; after the second time, you get an administrative detention, or a teacher-administered detention.

“[The point is] not just to punish students, but to get them to understand why it’s important to not be late,” Orders added.

Junior Phillip Mulbah is very supportive of the new policy and said,“I feel it’s [effective], because it keeps kids out of the hallways… a lot of kids skip… and this just teaches them [an important] lesson.”

“I think a lot of what we do is to prepare students for outside of  high school,” Orders added.  Another reason that they are trying to solve the tardy problem is because punctuality is critical later on in life.

“It’s helping the students.  It’s for their own benefits… it keeps them in class, [and is] bettering us [as young adults],” Mulbah added.