An Evaluation of the Tardy Room Program at Muncie Central High School b y Danhua Kong

1. An Evaluation of the Tardy Room Program at Muncie Central High School by Danhua Kong Methods Results:Tardy Comparison • Participants: • All students enrolled in CHS: 843 • 408 male students and 438 female students • 198 in 9th grade, 214 in 10th grade, 210 in 11th grade, and 221 in 12th grade • Procedure: • Students who were not at class when the bell rings were considered tardy and they would be requested to go to the Tardy Room—Student cafeteria—till the next period. • Tardy students were recorded by teachers on duty in the tardy room by period. • Students who had at least 4 tardies would be referred to the Student Service or Assistant Principal with written referrals from the teacher in the Tardy Room. • Tardy students would work on course related assignments placed by the teacher of the class he/she was missing. However, they were expected to pick up the exact missing assignments during the day or the day after. • Measurement: • The number of referrals collected by the Assistant Principal and the Tardy Form by period was used as data to analyze the situation of tardiness at CHS. • The number of referrals for 4 tardies, 6 tardies, 8 tardies, and 9 tardies that CHS had before and after the program was implemented were compared: monthly comparison between the school year 2010-2011 and 2011-2012, and the school year 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. The tardy information from the Tardy Forms were collected and input into the digital school system by the attendance secretary. • The administrators collected and analyzed the data from referrals and the digital school system with assistance of data analysis software. Tardy by Period August through November 2011 1st Semester 2010/2011 Rationale The school year of 2010-2011 witnessed an acceleration of discipline issues at Muncie Central High School, including inflated number of referrals and in-school suspension (ISS). This situation unquestionably resulted in a significant loss of instructional time that was supported to be used to facilitate students’ positive development academically, occupationally, and personally/ socially. Among all of these issues, repeated tardiness adversely impacted administers, teachers, and students to the most extent. Not being able to arrive in the classroom on time, or lacking the motivation to attend classes, indicated and thus further induced a school atmosphere that hindered students from pursuing knowledge. Once classes were frequently interrupted by tardy students, teachers couldn’t focus on instruction; instead, they needed to spend a considerable amount of time to write referrals. Most importantly, this issue was damaging teachers’ moral concerning dedication to education. The administration, as well, was occupied by referrals and other problems associated with it, therefore, their instructional leadership could not be evident. In order to reset the school culture, the 8-step team—comprised of faculty members and administrators—came up with the Tardy Room Program. With a sense of urgency and realization of the importance of bell-to-bell instruction, the administration of Muncie Central High School implemented the Tardy Room Program in August 2011—the beginning of the school year 2011-2012—with the purpose to curb the tardy issue. All staff were engaged in the program September/ December 2010/ 2011 Discipline Referrals 2010/2011 OVERALL REDUCTION 60% OVERALL REDUCTION 79% 5546 Discussion • Positive Outcome: • The overall reduction of tardy from the school year 2010-2011 to the school year 2011-2012 was 84%. • Great reduction of student referrals from 5546 in the first semester of school year 2010-2011 to 2191 in the first semester of school year 2011-2012. • Further Considerations: • Student report indicated that some students were deliberately tardy in order to skip classes. • Some teachers may not accept make-up work which is different from the assignments in the tardy room, resulting in students’ drop in grades. • These students may not be willing to ask teachers for the missing assignments or course information that they missed. • Recommendations: • Refer students who are constantly tardy to the guidance counselor • An agreed-upon policy concerning make-up work and assignments in the Tardy Room may be needed as a part of the consistent school regulation system. March 2011-March 2012 September 2011-March 2012 84% Reduction 4 Tardies