Ever tried to get into Taft High School at around 7:40? The lines to get in are out the door. Waiting in these lines can cause students to be more late than they need to be. Taft Today has looked into how this issue can be resolved so students can get to class on time.
“They are ridiculous,” said Assistant Principal Patrick Levins. He said one way to avoid waiting in the lines at 7:40 and being late is to, “Be here at 7:30, because School starts at 7:30 and it’s been that way since 2013.”
“Life is all about planning, you have to be prepared,” said Levins when asked if there should be a two to three minute grace period after 7:45. Students think this might help them get to class and have late attendance go down.
“I got to school at 7:40 and had to get a tardy pass for class even though I was here before class started,” said Taft junior Hana Lehai, about the long lines. These tardies could affect students’ ability to go to Homecoming. Students must keep a 90 percent cumulative attendance record to be eligible for this year’s Homecoming.
If there’s a will there’s a way. To make these lines shorter and resolve this issue in any way, administration must think outside the box. Taft can’t get rid of the scanners though; they do serve a security purpose making sure that every person coming into our school is a student.
Can the school increase its amount of scanners? “I think more is better,” said Assistant Principal Alexis Covarrubias. “It’s always good to explore how we can make things more efficient.” Adding more scanners could mean more students can scan at a time making the lines go faster and get students to where they need to be.
When asked if a two to three minute grace period for students after 7:45 could help students get to class without a tardy consequence, she said, “No, you have to get to school knowing the lines are crazy, everyday tardiness is not acceptable. The scanners let staff and your guardians know when you are getting to school and how late you are to every class.”
“Communication is key,” Covarrubias continued.
All in all there is no perfect solution right now to fix this problem but it’s being worked on. The only way to beat this situation in the meantime is to get here at 7:30, so students have enough time to get past these lines and not be late to the first class of the day.
