Be on time or be fined

[Denial]

I swear im glad i got out of highschool last year.
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Be on time or be fined
Whittier High School again implements fees for tardiness

By Tracy Garcia , Staff Writer

WHITTIER -- Two strikes and you're out out of $165, that is.

That's the tardiness policy being implemented at Whittier High School, where students who arrive on campus after the 8 a.m. bell more than twice without being accompanied by a parent will now receive $165 tickets from the Whittier Police Department.

The policy was enforced for the first time last year, due to the large numbers of students arriving late to school on a daily basis, Principal Loring Daviessaid.

"We have a pretty interesting situation in terms of the school's entrance we can monitor everyone that enters the campus after the tardy bell,' Davies said. Once the bell rings, all entrances to the campus are closed except the main one through the library, off Whittier Avenue.

"Last (school) year, the tardies were getting into the 200-300 range every day, and we're well into the hundreds again this year,' Davies said. "We didn't start it up again this fall because we wanted to see how many would start coming in tardy.

"We felt it was excessive, so we implemented the policy again.'

School resource officer Carlos Solorza, a Whittier police officer stationed at the high school, said quite a few tickets were issued last year but none has been issued since the policy went into effect Nov. 10 the start of the school's second quarter.

The tickets are issued under the city's Daytime Curfew-Truancy law, which says all students who attend a comprehensive high school must be in class between 8 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. during school days.

Students are issued two warnings and their parents are contacted about the tardies before being cited on their third time. If students cannot pay, Solorza said commissioners have given the option of either attending an eight-hour Saturday truancy school or performing community service hours.

Whittier High is the only high school in the city with this policy.

"Issuing the tickets cut the tardy numbers down quite a bit last year,' Solorza said. "But the fact is, we don't have to write the tickets. We just want students to get to school on time.'

In a letter sent home to parents before the policy took effect, school officials asked for help to get children "rising earlier in the morning, eating a nutritious breakfast and arriving at school on time.'

Parent Deanna Guerra, president of Whittier High's Parent- Teacher-Student Association, said Davies gave a brief presentation on the policy at the group's last meeting and it seemed to go over well.

"For students, I think they would prefer not to have the policy but it still motivates them to get there on time,' Guerra said. "I believe it's a good idea.'

-- Tracy Garcia can be reached at (562) 698-0955, Ext. 3051, or by e-mail at [email protected] .

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Bah, another way for schools to get money.

"For students, I think they would prefer not to have the policy but it still motivates them to get there on time,' Guerra said. "I believe it's a good idea.

If i knew i was going to be late i would skip school or that class i was late to.