Being Tardy Could Close Campus
November 27, 2017
Eastmont High School grants its students the luxury of open campus lunch. It is a way to allow students to go out and support local businesses in the valley, as well as a way to give the students of Eastmont a sense of independence. However, the
growing number of tardies has forced a new policy in place which will take away open lunch for those who have too many tardies.
There are very few schools who have open lunch as they are becoming rarer; the main reason being the attendance problems that come with them. Eastmont High School Principal, Lance Noell, says that he wants students to, “get out!…I think it’s good, I think it’s healthy. Get a break, get away.” Noell explains the new policy as, “a way to incentivize them to come back on time.”
The policy is designed to help those who have attendance problems. Noell stated, “Attendance has a direct correlation with graduation. There are many studies on schools, and that has held true forever.”
There is no set number of tardies that one can get before open campus privileges are taken away. However, lunch-time privileges will be looked at on a case by case basis. This new policy is an attempt at solving the problem without punishing everyone.
“Eventually you hit that point, where if you have enough issues with attendance you have to close your campus…” Noel explains, “There are a lot of students that do just fine…they don’t deserve to get that privilege taken away.”
Open Lunch allows the students of Eastmont to get out and support business in this community-based valley. However, if the number of tardies continues to rise the campus will be closed for lunch and no one will be allowed to leave campus.
