Students arriving late to school has been both an ongoing and growing issue not just in Tuscarora High School, but in schools all across America. In order to enforce the expectation that students arrive on time, schools have put in place policies and punishments for late students. Punishments for tardied students don’t do anything to lessen the rate of late students, only punishing them for factors they cannot control.
We asked both students and staff at Tuscarora High School some questions regarding the issue. We asked Natalie Gwozdecki, a junior, whether she thinks tardiness is always the fault of the student, “It’s not always the fault of the students, it can also be the parents fault. Also the long lines in the morning, you could hypothetically get to school on time, but end up waiting a couple extra minutes waiting in the car lines.” Majority of students do not have a license and therefore rely on others to get to school, such as parents, older siblings and bus drivers. When relying on others to get to school, students have no control over when they’ll arrive.
When students come to school late, they have to wait in line to create a Smartpass on the chromebook. The Smartpass is a way for admin and teachers to track which students came on time and which came in late, however it does nothing to help reduce the lateness. In fact, Smartpasses only add to the tardiness of students as students have to take the time to wait in line and make the pass before getting to class.
When we asked Andy Ohlheiser, a senior, he explained, “Some students come to school late because being on time is not a priority either because they don’t think it’s important or because of their mental health.” Mental health illnesses like depression make it difficult for students to get out of bed, let alone consider getting to school on time. Going to sleep late can also make it difficult for students to get out of bed early enough to get to school on time.
Along with students, we asked Lisa Smith, the principal, why she thinks students come to school late. Similarly, Smith stated, “There are a lot of reasons like staying up, having to walk to school and traffic.” Smith’s answer was similar to a lot of the other admin we interviewed, all of them stated that there are numerous reasons that contribute to tardiness, most of which aren’t the student’s fault.
At the end of the day, it’s not always the students fault. We have a lot of people suggesting that the time should be pushed back to 7:35 a.m. since students tend to show up only a few minutes late. The school should also loosen up on the lunch detentions, making students take responsibility for their actions is okay- we only get one break throughout school taking that away will cause even more stress.
