This school year students at Roosevelt high school not only have new classes and schedules but also a new lunch detention policy affecting many students.
This fall, Roosevelt introduced a lunch detention policy, aiming to help students get to class on time and reduce skipping during class periods. In the past, Roosevelt hasn’t had any detention policies, leading students to find this transition difficult. Especially because of the habits of skipping classes that individuals may have formed. For some this might feel like a stretch, for others maybe not. But all students are required to follow new rules or will face punishment.
The new late policy states that all students need to arrive on time and be ready for class. No more than five tardies are allowed per week, After the fifth tardy students will be assigned lunch detention. This policy also includes getting three LAT’s which is when a student is twenty or more minutes late to class, one skip, which is when a student leaves a class and does not come back. Both of these lead to a lunch detention as well.
This new policy has launched some controversy and some push back amongst students. One student states “It’s stupid”, another student declares “it isn’t fair and it’s hard to get to class on time due to the amount of people in the halls” Another student had a similar issue with the policy stating, “We barely have time to go to the bathroom during passing, because they are always crowded and you don’t want to be late because of the new policy.” Some staff had other opinions, “I think the new policy is more about accountability with students in getting rid of the habits of skipping class.” says one staff member. The debate continues as both students and staff adjust to new expectations, the majority of students disagree with the policy while the attendance staff seems to be sticking to these new set guidelines.
The policy was set in action on Monday September 8th, and as of now they are holding up. Mr McCants(attendance coach) says “So I would say we’ve probably had 70% of students that were supposed to serve lunch detention so far.” It looks like overall students are showing up whether they like it or not but who knows that could change throughout the school year.
In all, students, teachers and staff need time to get comfortable and settle into this new school year, as well as the new policies that follow. Even though these have started up some controversy most students are following along with the rules whether they like it or not.