by Elizabeth Olguin and Mariel Ponce
There has been a lot of controversy regarding the new tardy and attendance policy at Pueblo this new school year, but early on, a lot of people have expressed their disapproval.
Thus far, administrators have not lessened the penalty for being late. Tardy lines from primarily during first period, and sometimes this line is excessively long—sometimes as long as 100 feet. Students have to stand in long, hot lines until they reach the attendance counter where they receive “the go” to proceed to their first teachers.
Also, one minute has been shaved from this year’s passing bell schedule. If students are even remotely late to class, they must return to the attendance office for a pass.
“I would prefer students just going to class late and not having to come up here,” said Pueblo’s attendance clerk, Ms. Angelica Aros. “It takes students forever to sign in, and the lines can be very, very long—even now at the end of the first quarter.”
Administration feels that the tardy policy is helpful and gets our students prepared for the real world, but most students think that the tardy lines are unnecessary.
“Our intention is to get our students to realize the importance of being on time,” said Assistant Principal Steven Lopez. He does, however, acknowledge that five minutes may not be sufficient time to get to class.
“Maybe we need to put that one minute back into the schedule,” Lopez said. “We’re still evaluating the situation.”
History teacher Ms. Josephine Rincon said, “We teachers end up being the ‘bad guy’ because we try to get our students to be responsible and to get to class on time. My job description is to grade and plan and to communicate with parents about how their children are doing. This tardy policy turns me into a disciplinarian, and when I have to be the disciplinarian that messes up the pure relationship between student and teacher.”
Most students at Pueblo are opposed to this year’s strict tardy policy.
Junior Marcopolo Moreno said, “It’s a waste of our time! Even if we’re a minute late, we have to stand in line sometimes up to 40 minutes—sometimes the entire period! Traffic is very bad in the mornings, and being late is not our fault sometimes.”
Another junior David Miramontes said, “The tardy policy is an irony—because in the end, it makes us miss more class than necessary.”