Students have limited tardies to school. Here at FHS, students get only three tardies before getting detention. Having a reasonable amount of tardies is sufficient. Having tardies to school can be a hassle for some students, especially with traffic, distance and speeding down the road. Being on time to school is not always easy for some students, but students get in more trouble for tardies rather than actually missing school. If a student misses school for three days it’s not a huge deal, but if they get three tardies they get detention. Staff wouldn’t want students to miss school, but students get in bigger trouble for being late.
Traffic can be a huge time consumer when driving down the road. With school starting, sometimes school traffic can be substantial. Getting in traffic on the way to school is one of the main reasons why students are late.
Living further away can have an impact on a student’s ability and ease to get to school on time. Distance can have a huge impact on students mainly because some students don’t have transportation to get where they need to go. Students have work after school and are up late, so they might wake up later than usual. Missing the bus can be an inconvenience because that’s their only means of transportation, so therefore the student misses school.
Speeding down the road can be extremely dangerous for pedestrians and other drivers. Speeding causes accidents and could possibly hurt another individual. If a student gets pulled over it’s going to take longer for that particular student to get to school on time. Going way over the speed limit can cause a student to get a felony depending on how fast the person is going. The strict tardy policy mainly encourages students to be on time, but might encourage students to speed down the road.
Tardies should be enforced, but reasonable. Having five tardies seems to be a reasonable amount for students. Staff can’t blame students for being late because of parents trying to get their kids to school.
Mike • Nov 2, 2023 at 11:43 am
Tatum, I do support the claim that the tardy policy needs adjustment. I can understand that a multitude of tardies can be concerning. However, when there are mitigating circumstances, a student should not have to make a decision of being absent verses going to school, just because they are worried about being reprimanded. Documentation and counseling can be used to monitor a students tardies, and if the tardies are deemed excessive, conferencing between students, parents, and staff could take place. Being a veteran, the importance of being on time (early if possible) is understood. With that said, consideration should be made for special circumstances.