Students and staff share opinions on rising tardiness among PRHS students

by Kalani Gaviola, Op/Ed Editor

most tardies. not for me though, that would be sixth period. And then, on top of that, a certain contingent of students, though we have very clear procedure, even say ‘I don’t know what’s going on.’ (In that way) I think (tardies are) disrespectful.”

He is hopeful for further enforcement and administrative support.

“I’d be open to any, any form of penalty because it just seems like right now, it’s not really doing anything. I don’t think telling them that they’re being disrespectful is enough to deter the behavior… As teachers, we care… we want to see you. It upsets us on a human level that you’re not here… we actually do kind of miss you. We need and want all of our students in class, and that’s just because we care about student outcomes,”

Many students, however, don’t even see what they’re doing as disrespectful. 74.6% of student responses agree that tardiness isn’t as important as people make it Josie Clark, 10, believes tolerance in tardiness is necessary.

“I really don’t think tardiness is a big deal, because most of the time (when) students are late, it’s for about one to two minutes in the beginning of class, (and) if it’s for more than that it’s usually for a valid reason… I am absolutely not trying to be disrespectful towards my teacher when I’m late…. The staff should keep in mind that students are not tardy on purpose… we just all have different schedules and life gets in the way sometimes as a result.”

So, a clear stalemate is present wherein students want to the tardy policy to be more understanding while staff want a more enforced system.

Habits born in adolescence can stay with someone their entire life, and with 41% of of U.S. employers having fired an employee for arriving late tardiness isn’t an issue that leaves one as they finish high school, but a study from the Hammill Institute on Disabilities show that for some students, stronger enforcement doesn’t necessarily yield

There is hope, however. Math teacher Lori Jordan presents a reasonable solution. “There’s always alternative solutions, right. I think, you know, getting a committee of students and teachers together to work together would be a really great option because I’m sure there’s things that we’re not thinking of,” she said, and though getting together an entire committee may pose difficulties, what the real goal is making sure that the policy listens to all voices.

It’s a determined fact that the tardy policy is going to be more strongly enforced and in the end, most students and staff seem to want the same thing: a productive and understanding learning environment. Compromise is necessary, and as long as student are receptive to the staff view, and vice versa, tardiness will go down, and PRHS will remain a fair and effective place for all who walk past our gates.