DHS Implements New Tardy Policy

It is the beginning of a new school year, and with a new school year, new changes are present at Darien High School. The track has been refurbished and now follows the color scheme of the wave, there are multiple new teachers, and there is a new tardy policy, the most significant change of all.

If DHS students are late for first period, they can no longer go straight to class. Instead they have to make a trip to the attendance desk and get a pass, even if they walk in one minute after the bell rings. This new policy is a drag and distraction for many students, but believe it or not it is beneficial.
“It does not make sense to me that DHS would implement a new policy that requires a student to spend even more time out of class and miss even more material while waiting for a pass. I think it would be easier for everyone if teachers marked students tardy,” senior Dillon O’Shea said.

Not only do students miss more class time with this new policy, but it also disrupts class. It is only the first month of the school year, and this new policy has already distracted multiple students. For example, many teachers have to stop teaching to tell a student to go get a pass. Also, students who are late, disturb their peers in their first period class by walking in the classroom door abruptly and angrily.
“Many students in my first period classes have had to go get passes, and it just distracts me. It is so disruptive when kids walk in and out of class,” senior Isabel Lariño said.

This new policy would be more respected by students if some significant changes were made to it. The policy should not apply to students who have already been at school before the 7:40 a.m. bell rings. If a student walks in two minutes late because they had to park their car on the opposite side of the oval field, they should not be required to stand in a long line waiting for a pass. Also, many students have club meetings in the morning that often run late or have to meet with a teacher. Clubs are an important aspect at DHS, and community council meetings often run late. Students who are planning events, fundraisers, and trying to reform DHS should not be punished and marked tardy. Students who have already been at school should ultimately not have to go get a pass. “I would be more sympathetic to this new policy if there was a time that it kicked in,” senior Colleen Brereton said. 

Even though this tardy procedure is defined as “new,” it is actually a revived policy from past years at DHS. According to DHS attendant Mr. Jim Smith, this policy was in place about three or four years ago. It was inactive for many years because “many students were coming in late and waiting in line and not getting to class,” Smith said. So, DHS chose to put the responsibility in teachers hands, but this proved to be ineffective.
“Many students would just come in late and lollygag in and attendance was not always accurately recorded.” So, now the policy is back and helping first period attendance.
While many students are agitated by this new policy, it has helped to lower the number of students who are late to first period. It ultimately motivates students to get to class on time and be more efficient in the morning.

“On a daily basis we have about 10-12 students who are coming in late, but previously before this new policy was implemented, we would have 20, 30, or 40 students arriving late,” DHS attendant Mr. Jim Smith said. “Our whole objective of the tardiness policy is to push students to get to school on time. We just want to make sure that they get as much class time as possible.”

This new change to DHS is going to take some time for students to get used to. As the school year continues on, frustration with this policy will most likely cease and every desk will be filled when the 7:40 am bell rings.