Tardies have been a rising concern of schools around Wichita. Recently, Southeast decided to introduce a new tardy policy called “sweeps.” Students who are late to class are now “swept” to the satellite cafeteria rather than getting a tardy slip. According to school administration, the new sweeps policy has cut the number of tardies in half compared to this time last year.
“Last year, we had 2,835 tardies for the month of August,” assistant principal Jamie Wetig said. “This year, it’s 1,455 tardies. Out of that 1,455 tardies, 985 of them are kids just getting to school late … So when you just do the simple math, that leaves 470 tardies.”
The intent of the sweep system is to get students to class on time and be able to give consequences to those who continue getting to class late.
“I believe some students had over 100 tardies, and there were no consequences,” Wetig said. “And the number one thing for administration is to make sure our students are in the classroom. So once you’re in the classroom, then it’s up to the teacher, and it’s up to that student to learn but if you’re not in the classroom, neither the teacher or the student have an opportunity to impact your education.”
To help encourage students to get to class on time, the new administration is also making consequences for being late more significant.
“The vast majority of our kids are succeeding and getting to class on time,” Wetig said. “I think that the biggest issue for us is we have some students who are just repeat offenders. And we can continue with the consequences but at some point, we need to figure out what’s going to be best for that student.”
While the sweeps policy has been doing well from the administration’s perspective, they’re aware that many students likely see it as too strict.
“I bet you that the vast majority of the kids don’t like the tardies policy, but every kid should be able to tell us why it’s in place,” Wetig said. “And that aligns with that number one goal, we want you to be in the classroom where you’re going to learn.”
