Late to class? You’ll pay for it.
Starting this year, students at East High school in Salt Lake City who show up late to class will have the option of paying $5 or spending 30 minutes in detention.
The teachers at the high school have the final word on whether or not a student has to pay.
If the student has a legitimate reason for not being on time, the fee can be waived. Otherwise, the student is marked as truant and will have to spend time in detention, said the school’s principal, Paul Sagers.
“Students are reacting by not being late to class for the most part, although they probably would say they don’t like the new policy,” Sagers said.
“There is 100 per cent buy-in from teachers, which we knew we needed for this to be successful.”
Sagers said the school year started off by giving warnings for the first two weeks so students could become fully aware of the new policy.
One of the goals of the policy was to ensure students would be on time for class and avoid disturbing the teaching process by coming in late, Sagers said.
According to Sagers the agreement took a long time to put into place and so far he has observed fewer students in the hallway.
Pam Chapman, a high school teacher from Windsor, Ont., said if her school decided to implement a similar policy she would vote against it.
“I don’t want my professionalism questioned because I am taking money from a student, “ Chapman said.
Leah Constantaras, a second-year Carleton criminology student, said if this policy were adopted by her high school she would be upset.
“I do not think this policy will work. Teenagers work for money themselves and should not have to waste it on school punishments,” she said.
Sagers said the money collected from late students will go towards paying the teachers who monitor detention.
He said the policy was an experiment this year, but if successful, it will continue to be a part of East High’s mandate.