New Way To Fight Lateness At Lyons Township High

LA GRANGE, IL – Lyons Township High School has a new way to deal with tardiness next school year, which starts Aug. 19, the principal said this week.

Last year, two-fifths of tardies were in the school's first period, Principal Jennifer Tyrrell told the school board.

For this year, the school plans to scan students who arrive in the first 10 minutes after the first class starts – from 7:45 a.m. to 7:55 a.m.

"That will put students in a position to go straight to class," the principal said.

Before, students who arrived late to school were required to go to the assistant principal's office first. Once they arrived in class, teachers took time to record their arrivals, interrupting teaching.

Now, the new scanner will automatically record a student's late arrival, meaning the teacher won't have to do it.

"It's going to help with just moving kids to class," Tyrrell said. "Our theory is that they're not going to want to get scanned in. They will want to get in here earlier and get to class... So our hope is that it preserves instructional time."

Students who arrive late because of their buses won't be penalized for being tardy because the situation is beyond their control, she said.