Century Middle School invented a new way to prevent tardies from happening. Beginning on Wednesday, November 1st, an office staff member would go on the speaker and remind students how much time they had left to get to class. Right after the final bell rings at 8:40am, the administration collects all students that are still in the hall and takes them to the cafeteria.
“I think giving kids reminders to get to class starting at 8:38, 8:39 and then right before 8:40 is helpful,” says Century Middle School principal Kristin Vollmar. “We have had an enormous amount of tardies to first hour, not because kids are arriving late to school, but because we are hanging out by our lockers and not making our way to class.”
The “tardy sweep” policy seems to be very effective so far. After the first day, the number of tardies drastically dropped from 74 students to only 12. Teachers agree that the policy is effective. “I have seen a big improvement with my frequent offenders,” says 6th grade math teacher Andy Biller.
The tardy sweep also seems to help with overcrowding in the hallways in the morning. Other benefits include teachers being able to begin class on time. “It is distracting to your teacher and peers when kids straggle into the classroom and the teacher has to stop what they are doing to change the attendance from absent to tardy,” explains Vollmar.
The policy is brand new to Century and nothing like this has been in place before. “I think it’s a great idea… it’s the first time that the school has implemented this and I think it has been successful,” adds Biller.
