Rossville Elementary cuts tardiness with ‘Time for Time’ program

A program at Rossville Elementary is targeting students who are habitually late by making sure they make up lost classroom time at the end of the day.

“Tardies have always been a problem for administrators,” said Rossville Elementary assistant principal Chris Sikes.

At the end of the first half of the 2008-09 school year, Rossville Elementary had more than 70 students with 10 or more tardy days, and 20 of those had between 30 to 45 tardies, according to Sikes. Anytime a student arrives late, even a matter of minutes, the student is considered tardy.
After the enormous amount of tardies in the first half of the year, Rossville Elementary installed a program called “Time for Time” to outline consequences for those who are habitually late and make sure students are getting the appropriate amount of instruction.

Rossville Elementary was able to reduce tardies by more than half by the end of the school year, and Sikes pointed to increased test scores on the CRCT.

When a student is tardy five times, the school calls the child’s parent to set up a learning session. The student’s session lasts from 2:15-3:30 p.m., keeping them after school.

The session is arranged on a day most convenient for parents to pick up their child. Parents have seemed to embrace the program, with more than half choosing to have their children attend the afterschool session on the same day as the parent was notified, according to Sikes.

The students spend the 75 minutes using a computer program called “Study Island” and predominantly learn about math, since it is usually taught earliest in the day when those students have been tardy.

The federal “No Child Left Behind” policy holds schools accountable for the attendance and progress of all children, which can make the end of school year particularly challenging to maintain the policy standards.

Sikes and media specialist Debbie Shannon were in charge of the afterschool class in the media center.

The school will continue the program next year.

“It’s an important life lesson employers are having to deal with out there,” said Sikes. Businesses frequently mention to school administrators the importance of employees who are dependable and on time.

Principal Angie Ingram at Rock Spring Elementary has a similar plan of students paying back time for being tardy.

“It curtailed our tardies and gave me a chance to reinforce the importance of students being to school on time each day,” Ingram said. “I am certain it will prevent tardies from hindering students’ progress at school.”

06/04/09 Matt Ledger
From the “Walker County Messenger”
LaFayette, GA