Students Making Punctuality a Priority

Students+Making+Punctuality+a+Priority

So far, this school year at VHS has been defined by change.  We have a new principal, vice principal, guidance counselor, and lobby.  One change that has gotten a lot of attention from students is the new late policy.  

The late policy under our new school administration states that “Students who are late to school will receive a lunch detention to be served that same day. Failure to report to lunch detention will result in additional discipline. Seniors with greater than ten lates to school will lose their senior privileges. Juniors who have greater than ten lates to school may not qualify for senior privileges in the next school year.”

Some students feel that these new tardiness policies are helpful.  Senior Gianna Calandra, explains that “the late policy gives students a responsibility that will prepare them for college and the real world.”  VHS’s new administrators have emphasized to students that being late is rarely accepted at jobs, and managing our time now will prepare us for when we have jobs in the future.  

Students must be in their first period class by 7:55 to be considered “on time.”  If all of the students at VHS abide to this rule, we will have a very different year than last, statistically.  A poll on VHS’s student tardiness showed that last school year, out of the class of 2016, 43 percent had more than 10 lates and 13 percent had more than 25 lates.  Of the class of 2017, 37 percent had more than 10 lates and 9 percent had more than 25 lates.  

Many students think that punishments for tardiness are particularly harsh.  Junior Ava Anderson says “Whether I am late or not is not a reflection of how I do in school.  I participate in class and being late does not affect that.”  Even though seniors are the only ones with out-to-lunch and parking privileges, juniors can lose these privileges for next year if they are late more than ten times this year.

“We have earned those privileges in previous years of high school and they should not be taken away from us for being late to class a few times,” Ava added.

Despite some grumbling from students however, a quick look around the hallways at 7:54 on a given weekday morning tells you the new policy is working.  Or a look at Mr. Cogdill’s Twitter account, where he reported on October 13 that “99.99 percent of all students present today were on time for school at VHS.”