You see it every day, especially first period: students running to make it to class on time. Some of them don’t even bother running–they know they’re late, and they saunter in withoug a care in the world, despite knowing there are consequences.

Students are frequently asked why they are late, why they can’t manage to make it to school on time. Their answers are interesting and varied, as you might imagine.

Sophomore Nathan Miramontes says he’s late once in awhile due to not waking up early enough, and going to sleep late. Sounds typical, right? Sophomore Ruby Marquez is late almost everyday to school because she also has a problem waking up early for school, and goes to bed late. The same goes for junior Edgar Rodriguez, who says he’s late about twice a week because he goes to sleep late causing him to wake up late.

Sophomore Jessica Gonzales says she’s late about two or three times out of the week. Gonzales claims to be late due to transportation issues but says she’s ready to go before the bell rings. But she’s not the only one who blame transportation issues.

Junior Anthony Murrieta is late to school about half the time because he is constantly waiting on his ride. Senior Graciela Madrigal says she’s late only on Tuesdays due to  transportation issues because her mom leaves before school starts, the hassle of having the bridge constructed on and having to walk around it takes her about five minutes, the same five minutes that she could’ve been on time with, and she doesn’t wake up early enough.

Junior Elizabeth Cortez is one of those rare students who gets up on time ande has no ride issues. So why is she always late to first period? She says she’s late because she loses track of time while getting ready.

These students were asked what an effective consequence would be if they continued to be late,  or, alternatively, what could motivate them to be on time. One student suggests instead of getting sent to class, students should get sent to In-House for the period. A couple others said something similar and said an after school detention would help. Gonzales says having her probation officer walk with her to each class would be a real punishment. Rodriguez says a good consequence would be to be treated in the same attendance policy seniors get, rather than any PBIS-related activities like picking up trash. Madrigal says maybe having a 0 period will motivate her to leave her house sooner.  

Many of the students interviewed said they were late because they went to be late that caused them to be tired and wake up late in the morning. Can this be the cause of their parents not enforcing their students to go to bed sooner or taking away the things that cause students to stay up so late?

There are many different solutions for each of these students’ difficulties in getting to school on time. Some may be rather hard, but with communication within the family, it is almost certain that if students talk it out, they can be on time while still managing to do any other things they need to do. Of course there may be some circumstances but if it’s to the point where the family cannot work it out, and the student is constantly late, the parents need to come in and talk about their at home situations with a faculty member or counselor. Many of the students also mentioned that they request that instead of having a late start, have a minimum day due to transportation issues.  

Administration has started tardy sweeps recently, so that may help. We’ll see. The only question that remains: what to do with all those McDonald’s and Jack-in-the-Box breakfasts once students are swept into tardy rooms?