Everyone notices the increase of students being put into ALC, but why now? In reality, the policy for tardy sweeps has been in place for years, and is only being enforced recently because the school is having serious attendance issues,  with about 300 students tardy to their first period on a recent Friday.

Assistant Principal Ms.Scott says that the reason for the sudden enforcement of this policy is out of respect for students who do get here on time. “They do not need to have their class disrupted by students constantly entering the room 15, 20, or 30 minutes late.” Instead of having late students enter and disrupt their classroom, staff holds them in a classroom where the students are free to work on homework and other assignments for their classes.

However, it doesn’t seem to be kicking in quite yet. Even though the school staff are giving the students a grace period of 5 to 10 minutes, some students are being taken to ALC for tardiness more than once in a single day. Ms. Scott states that the policy will continue to be enforced until students understand that they need to be in class on time. Officer Tillman adds that the ALC punishment is meant to convey a message that being tardy to class is not alright. The staff hopes that the policy will help make a difference in the amount of tardy students at Don Lugo, as it is the school’s largest disciplinary issue.