Most students are already very familiar this year with waiting in line to enter Bethel due to new heightened security measures, but very few are aware that our attendance policies have also been updated.
In previous years, students just had to stop by attendance to get a tardy or late arrival excused. At the start of the year though, staff have implemented a new policy: students are now required to give an active reason for being tardy after late arrivals.
“I have not heard about that,” one senior said when asked about the policy. “I can see two sides to that. You have one side where it’s just the kids who come in late due to the lines and the hold up. And, you come in, you go to class, and it’s, ‘sorry I was late because [of] this [security lines]’, they’re going to be fine because they gave the reason.
The goal of the new attendance policy is to curb skipping. Last year it was common to see students arrive campus only to walk off to go to 7-Eleven, McDonald’s or the grocery story.
“You have kids who are skipping class,” the senior added. “They come in, [and]…they don’t really give a good reason [for being late]. I think it’s an okay measure, honestly. If anything, I’d probably support it a little more than I wouldn’t.”
While students seem in favor of the attendance policy and heightened security, they have drawbacks. The metal detectors are so sensitive that almost everyone is stopped and searched, producing a long, sluggish security line. The end result is many students are tardy, disrupting instruction in first block.
“It’s way slower,” senior Xiyonni Daughtrey commented. “I’ve been late to class on multiple occasions. I’m [so] close to other students around [that] I can feel them breathing down my neck,”
When asked if she was aware of the change in the attendance policies, Xiyonni’s response was, “What policies?”
Bethel’s number one goal is to have perfect attendance. However, with the recent influx of tardy kids due to security checks, questions arise about just how many kids are being tardy a day.
“Daily, it’s […] about maybe 40 or 50 students coming in late every day,” said Mrs. Golden, a staff member in the attendance office.
She went on to say that she didn’t necessarily know why students were coming in late every day, and that the school ensures parents know their students should arrive by 7:45 am so they can be in class by 8:15 am.
It is hard to tell if attendance has gotten better compared to previous years, but the school is taking measures to hopefully improve student attendance for the following years to come.