As we get later into the school year, senioritis seems to spread to all grade levels, and students are skipping class more and more. Principal Ron Perry put in effect a new tardy policy in hopes of lowering the number of unexcused tardies and cuts.
Every Monday, students with excessive tardies will be assigned a lunch detention on Tuesday.
And every Wednesday, students with excessive cuts will be assigned lunch detention on Thursday. Admin defines excessive as four or more tardies and two or more cuts.
Students voiced their concerns about this policy, especially students who don’t drive themselves to school.
“I think that’s preposterous,” freshman Sefo Vainuku said. “Some people just have a hard time getting to school on time.”
Vainuku said that he is late to school every day because of his siblings and doesn’t have control over when he gets there. He finds it extremely unfair that he’s getting punished for something he can’t handle.
“The cuts that wrangle me are the ones after the break and after lunch,” Principal Ron Perry said.
While this policy punishes all students who are often tardy or cut class, the goal is to get the students who choose to skip class and come to class late, to get to class on time.
“If those students choose not to serve detention, then we’re going to make them sign in [at lunch] for the next five days, and they are going to lose their off-grounds,” Perry said. He explained that the students will sign in at the attendance office between 10-15 minutes after lunch starts, and 10-15 minutes before lunch ends.
“There’ll be some breaks so they might be able to sprint off campus, but they’ll have to sprint back,” Perry said.
A text will also be sent to their parents stating that they lost their off-ground privileges for the week.
AHS’s tardies and cuts are at an extreme high right now, and the administrators want to lower them by at least 20 percent.
“If we can get that change done in the next couple of weeks, things will keep rocking the way that we are doing it,” Dean of Students, Juan-Antonio Santisteban said. “If not, we’re going to up the stakes.”
The administration hopes that this policy will help set up students for their careers after high school.
“If you were running a business, and you were coming in that often late, or missing work, would you fire yourself?” Perry said.
