Written by Kaden West, Staff Writer
As 2019-20 school year gets well underway, many changes are occurring.
Students are experiencing high school for the first time, meeting new people, and making new deadlines.
Through this, Indian Trail has installed a new tardy policy to help students stay on time.
Attendance is important to success. Future employers want people who are timely and able to learn in the environment around them. Through the tardy policy, students are encouraged to practice timeliness, get to class, and realize the importance of being in class.
“That mindset that class is important, and ‘I need to be there as soon as possible’ … I think it’s a good message to convey; it’s a good skill to have,” says Vice Principal Matt St. Martin.
The tardy policy is enforced to bene t students’ futures. Indian Trail staff wants students to put care into their education and reach their full potential. Attendance is of great importance because class time consists of the materials that students need to be successful on bigger projects such as tests that will greatly impact their GPA.
According to Athlos Academies, an Idaho-based educational service organization available to schools throughout the country, students who are chronically tardy perform worse on their test scores.
A good GPA combined with real life skills taught by staff here are what will help students strive towards success.
The less time students spend in the classroom means the less they can contribute, often leading to class being disrupted, placing group and class projects on hold, and making less significant peer connections, Athlos Academies notes.
By being in class on time and sticking through it, students will be able to contribute to the discussion and retain more knowledge given to them. This will lead to more success on homework and tests, improved GPA, successful relationships with peers and faculty alike, and overall better preparation for life after high school.