Schools are cracking down on tardines

“I’m standing there with pen in hand, and I look them in the eye and ask, ‘Why are you late?’” he says. “They don’t want that interaction. It’s not a pleasant one. I’m not mean, but I’m firm.”

Taking a firm stance is often the only way to convince students to take the school bell seriously -- at least, that’s what a lot of school administrators are saying these days as they crack down on student tardiness.

“You just try whatever you can to get their attention -- and get them to understand that getting to class on time is part of their responsibilities,” says Maria Romero, principal of Roosevelt High School in Fresno, Calif.

There’s little research that focuses solely on tardiness, but a handful of studies published by the National Center for Education Statistics hint at the need for concern. In one study, for example, a third of principals reported that tardiness was a “serious” or “moderate” problem for their schools. And, to no surprise, the problem was worst in high schools.

For school boards, there are obvious reasons to pay attention to the issue. Students late to class lose valuable instructional time, and their late arrival is a distraction on teachers and students already at work.

Some principals suggest that it’s also important to drive home a message of personal responsibility: “I doubt you’ll find a single employer who’ll say it’s okay for you to be late,” Romero says. “You have to be responsible and punctual, and that’s what we have to teach.”

Where principals are tackling student tardiness, they report good results. Last spring, more than 100 Gardner High students were arriving late each day to class -- and teachers were complaining that their first-period classes were half-empty.

At the time, tardy students simply signed in as late and went to class. Consequences were inconsistent and sometimes meted out hours or even days after the offense, Baldassarre says. So students weren’t getting the message that tardiness was a big deal.

To change that, he voiced a simple expectation: “On time, every day.” He began greeting latecomers every morning, and he beefed up after-school detention time for repeat offenders.

It worked: Tardiness dropped from a high of 120 students a day last April to an average of 20 a day this fall. Earlier this month, there were only nine late students out of 1,050.

At Roosevelt High, the tardiness problem wasn’t limited to early morning. Students were wandering the halls and showing up late to classes throughout the day.

That changed when Romero began announcing “tardy sweeps” between class periods. An announcement on the PA system warns of an upcoming sweep, and when the period bell rings, teachers lock their doors. Security personnel and administrators then walk the halls and herd remaining students to the cafeteria, where their names and ID numbers are recorded before they are allowed to return to class.

Students who are found tardy three times are put on a non-privilege list -- and barred from attending school dances and athletic events or participating in sports or other extracurricular activities. Other penalties can follow.

“Kids were quite upset about it,” Romero says about the tougher sanctions. “But you could see kids running to class. They didn’t stand and talk to friends, and we had to do sweeps less frequently.”

In Irving, Texas, schools are turning to technology to help curb tardiness. Students who show up late must line up outside MacArthur High School, where teachers scan the bar codes on student ID cards and print out a hall pass that calculates their punishment: a warning for first offenders and detention or night school for chronically tardy students.

Vice Principal James Rambo says the system has cut down on tardiness by making consequences more immediate and consistent with student behavior. It also provides school administrators with accurate records that allow them to watch for trends or spot students with a chronic problem.

“It gives us the opportunity to modify student behavior a lot quicker and parents get involved quicker,” he says. “If a student is having a problem, then we have some time to help . . . to get to the root of the problem and figure it out.”

The proof is in the pudding: The high-tech system, coupled with longer detention periods, did the trick, cutting the tardy rate from hundreds to 20 or 30 a day.

Taking a harder stance, however, isn’t always popular. At Woodland Hills, a Pittsburgh-area high school, some parents complained when school officials decided to bus home chronically tardy students each morning. But officials say the policy applies only to the worst offenders, and the get-tough approach is making a difference.

In Boston, some criticism has focused on the policy at some schools to lock out tardy students until they return with a parent or guardian. The Boston Student Advisory Council says the policy deprives students of an education and causes unnecessary inconvenience.

Expressing a willingness to review the practice, Superintendent Thomas Payzant invited student leaders to collect information about school policies  -- and offer recommendations for a better approach.

Meanwhile, other districts are cracking down on chronically tardy students by insisting parents attend parenting classes, forcing students to make up lost work in evening or Saturday classes, cutting grades, and working with the courts to revoke students’ drivers licenses or fine parents.

At the National Center for Student Engagement, a Colorado-based group that deals with student truancy issues, Director Judith Martinez says some schools also are experimenting with incentives to influence student behavior.

Some schools are rewarding timely attendance with special privileges, gift certificates, and eligibility to win a Sony Playstation or other sizable prize.  

Other than anecdotal evidence, there’s little hard data or well-researched case studies to guide school boards and administrators on how to tackle tardiness. But Martinez suggests a policy that combines tough consequences with incentives -- and is timely and consistent in its enforcement -- probably has the best chance of success.