The HHS attendance policy has been strictly enforced since the start of the 2024-2025 school year in an effort to improve overall attendance. New this year, students who arrive between 7:30 to 7:45 AM. must check in at the Attendance Table in the front lobby prior to heading to their first block class.
Repeated tardiness comes with consequences: Five tardies result in one-afternoon detention, ten results in a Saturday School, and 15 results in a meeting with guardians and Assistant Principal.
The policy has generated a variety of responses from the student body.
“Personally, it’s not an issue to me, but I don’t think it’s that helpful. There are still kids that struggle to get to school regardless of the policy, and it’s only making life more difficult for them because they are being punished for it,” shared one senior student, who preferred to remain anonymous.
Another student saw the new enforcement from a different angle.
“It’s working, so it might be good, but it can be annoying. I see it’s making an impact,” said senior Ari Puim.
When asked about their morning routines, responses varied. Some noted that nothing has changed about their routine, while others have mentioned they are waking up earlier.
Though some students may be surprised, the attendance policy has been in the handbook for more than a decade.
“Nothing in the handbook changed, the practice changed. The concern was that we looked at our attendance data, and ever since COVID-19 we’ve been making steady but small changes,” said Principal Dr. Jason Medeiros.
Dr. Medeiros explained that the biggest problem for tardies was between 7:30 and 7:45 AM. Many students considered that time period to be a “grace period” but he emphasized that students are missing much learning.
“In reality, once you keep missing those 15-20 minutes, it adds up.”
Teachers have seen an improvement in the attendance of their first class of the day.
“I used to have, sometimes, kids coming in 20-30 minutes late,” said English teacher Amy Plackowski. She continued, “There’s definitely been an improvement.”
“I think there’s been a significant improvement, there’s definitely less late people in first block overall,” said math teacher Cary Schwartz.
The policy was enforced after careful planning and consideration.
“We had a group of staff meet throughout last year to look at the big picture and how it impacted the classroom level. We wanted to set a positive climate here,” said Medeiros.
Administration has observed early signs of success with this initiative.
“Our goal is to have a better sense of what’s happening week to week, month to month,” Dr. Medeiros said.
“Now we are able to account for students in a more accurate fashion in regard to who is actually here in school and who is not,” Assistant Principal Jennifer Chernisky said.
Despite the improvements, some students feel that the change is too much.
“The consequences, I think, are a little harsh.” an anonymous student said.
However, there is also recognition of the policy’s effectiveness.
“It’s working, and people are complying with it,” said Puim.
Although the policy may be challenging, students have adapted to the attendance table.
“It was for sure a challenging change for some. But our students have been really good about it. I’m really proud of how accountable and understanding the students have been.” said Chernisky.
