Snow More Tardies
Late Starts are implemented when weather conditions increase traffic.
Students and staff carefully drive on the roads in order to make it to school.
February 8, 2022
On winter mornings students do not just wake up to their alarms. They wake up to a muddy and gray unplowed layer of snow on the road and the thought of making it to school on time. Right when many students and staff members realize they are going to be late, an announcement is made that the schedule is going to be shifting to a late start.
According to Tom Kempf, associate principal of operations, the district aims to make this announcement at 5 a.m. the day of. But on Monday, Jan. 24, students and teachers remained stuck in traffic as first period came closer.
“The decision was made very late in the game,” Kempf said. “We were averaging three to five teachers that were going to be late, in just about every department.”
The intentions of this policy are to ensure that everyone is in the building before the school day begins and so students and staff have extra time to get to school safely in unfavorable conditions.
“The roads were dangerous so I get why they do it,” junior Brooke Garcia said. “Everyone can be in the building when they need to be.”
Monday’s quick decision also ensured that everyone was ready to learn or teach when first hour began.
“I got to school at 7:38 so I would have missed a lot of first hour,” junior Julia Growny said.
Like many of the students, she does not mind the slight schedule change and some of the potential adjustments it can come with. While these types of adjustments can be beneficial, they can also present minor challenges such as shortened class periods.
“There are always going to be challenges that come with an adjustment like that,” Kempf said. “If you can overcome the challenges, I don’t think it becomes a hindrance for us.”
On Monday, Jan. 23, Students and staff adjusted to the schedule change, and first period began at 8:00 a.m. with everyone ready to begin their day.
“I pride our teachers, staff, and I would say, the vast majority of our students for being flexible and kind of rolling with the punches and adjusting really well to our decisions when they happen like this,” Kempf said.
