The ring of the bell echoes in the hallways as students hurry along to class, ushered by assistant principals along the way. However, this year an updated policy has taken place, one that first directs tardy students to kiosks prior to class.
For the 2024-25 school year, Coppell High School, New Tech High @ Coppell and CHS9 have implemented a new tardy policy to limit tardiness and absences from class. The newest aspect of the policy is the implementation of technology.
In previous years, CHS administration kept track of tardies through a Google form and individually called learners down to issue punishments such as detention. This year, the new system, Student Conductor, automates the entire process.
“Records show we have a lot less kids coming in tardy than we used to,” assistant principal Anna Wanderski said. “We can tell the improvement visually by just being in the hallway. Once that bell rings, the hallways are practically empty, which has been a big change from past years.”
Its integration with the newly implemented semester exam has become a talking point among students. Exclusively for semester exams, three tardies in one class is equal to one unexcused absence. Once three unexcused absences have accumulated in that class, a cumulative semester exam becomes mandatory for the student.
“I think the exemption from the semester exam is what gets people to be like, ‘Oh, I don’t want to have any unexcused absences,’” senior Lily Qiu said.
Late arriving students can be distracting for other students and teachers who may have to pause their work because of a late arrival. In AP English IV teacher Benjamin Stroud’s class, students miss out on valuable instruction time and beginning-of-class duties, like filling out their class journal.
“We’re trying to teach a work ethic at this school and the soft skills of coming in on time,” Stroud said. “It is very frustrating to see kids 15 minutes late, walking in with their Starbucks. If you do that in the outside world, you’re going to get a pink slip.”
Implementing an effective tardy policy becomes even more important when considering state funding regulations which are based on student attendance rates. Less tardiness means more exemptions from semester exams and supports higher attendance goals, which allows the district to receive funding that can be spent on student activities.
“It’s all connected,” Wanderski said. “If you want more things, attendance is a great way to get extra money in order for those things to happen. Better pep rallies, new spirit wear — the sky’s the limit.”
One way students can benefit from minimizing absences and tardies is through newly introduced purple lunch, an off-campus lunch period rewarded to those with perfect attendance.
“We’re trying to reward our learners who make an effort to always be here on time and attend all of their classes,” Wanderski said.
Accommodations are made for bus riders that arrive late. Students, instead, scan a QR code upon entering the building, directing to an online pass which allows them five minutes to get to class. Similarly, if unprecedented traffic, an accident or bad weather occurs in the morning, tardies are not counted.
“Being late isn’t a bus rider’s fault. No matter how responsible they are as a person, they can be tardy because of the bus, so the bus pass is a fair solution,” senior Sejal Rawat said.
Resources detailing the policy can be found in the Coppell ISD Student Handbook and on posters hung throughout Coppell High School.
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