MBHS Administration Adds a new Tardy Policy for Second Semester

Before returning to school for a second semester, all students were met with an email on Jan. 6 from Principal Scott Schalde informing them of a new policy regarding tardy consequences. This email was all of 10 lines, including Schalde’s sign-off. It briefly touched on the start date of the policy (Jan. 7), and on the guidelines of the policy, “any student who accumulates more than three tardies in a single week will be asked to participate in campus beautification.”

While questions were welcomed by Schalde in his email, students around campus have been upset, anxious, and curious about the new policy. Sophomore Addyson Janovec said, “It’s good that we’re being early and keeping [tardies] on track, but at the same time, as with any policy at the school, it’s really harsh at first and then they forget about it,” already setting up expectations of this “harsh” policy failing. Senior Hayden Gentry said, “I think it’s a little over the top, but I recognize that a lot of the issues are time management.” 

Though they are at different points in their high school careers, these two students share similar opinions on the new policy and believe that it is too strict. Neither student felt fully informed about the policy and required an explanation of what is entailed. Teachers, however, were aware that this policy would be put in place weeks before it was announced to students. 

Teacher opinions differ around campus regarding how students have reacted and if it’s a satisfactory policy. Linnae Coiner had a strong opinion on student tardiness and said, “I think something has to be done because there's too many tardies, so it’s a start… more should be done.” Steve Gade simply said, “I think the new tardy policy is terrific.”