New for the 2025-26 school year, there is an updated tardy policy. This rule, created by the McDaniel administration team, is designed to improve attendance and accountability by giving students punishments, hoping they’ll learn from their mistakes “and arrive by the bell.”
Vice principal Ian Twiss summarized it simply: “Make it back to class for your third and seventh periods on time, or you’ll get a lunch detention slip.”
According to Twiss, the team had been planning and discussing the policy for quite some time — even for a couple of years. In a slideshow presented at the beginning of the year, presented by teachers and written by the admin, they said: “Starting TODAY, students who arrive from lunch late will receive a Lunch Detention Slip for the next day. What happens if a student doesn’t attend? They will be assigned After-School Detention for the following Monday. If a student doesn’t attend either detention, Students will receive a Stage 2/3 Referral with a possible Parent Meeting and/or Suspension.”
According to the same slide show, they have actually seen an increase in people going to class. It stated that the average tardies on the first days of school were 170. After the assignment of detention, there were: 148 first day, 106. Second day, and after five days, 56.
Junior Clover Wykhuis shared that the scheduled detention period for those who are tardy isn’t always useful. “You basically just go there and get a paper and attendance,” Wykhuis said, stating their frustration with what it’s used for.
Interestingly, he added that some students were actually advocating for a form of “punishment” for being late. Twiss reported that several students even came directly to the admin asking for stricter rules.
So what are the results? According to James Jeffery-West, McDaniel’s AP Psychology teacher, attendance has “increased quite a lot” from his perspective. He also mentioned that students were among those who requested the policy. Jeffery-West explained an important point: “When people walk into the classroom late, it interrupts productivity and the flow of the class.”
Of course, there have been some concerns. For one, the system isn’t built to account for every situation. Twiss stated that it can’t always recognize valid reasons for being late, such as visiting the college and career room or being sick.
“This can be frustrating for both students and their parents or guardians,” Twiss added.
