Looking at her tardies from first semester, sophomore Fadumo Abdi said she believes the attendance policy allows students to decrease absences in the future.

“Sometimes I don’t follow the attendance policies,” Abdi said. “I personally have 12 tardies, so I love that there is a way to lower that number.”

According to assistant principal Jessica Busse, during the past semester, the administration has seen improvements on attendance since the creation of the contract system. This system allows students to attempt to excuse an absence after five unexcused absences through interventions with parents.

“We’ve been able to make some interventions a lot earlier in the semester which has been great for both students and teachers alike,” Busse said. “We’ve been able to partner with parents more so that’s been really good.”

Junior Jacob Brown said while the attendance policy provides advantages, he does not feel a partial absence should be given to students five minutes late, the same amount as passing time.

“I show up on time, so it’s not a problem for me,” Brown said. “I suggest just showing up on time, but I think it’s a little silly getting a partial absence showing up five minutes late.”

Busse said she believes students have reacted in different ways to the attendance changes made this year.

“There is some frustration, but then they’re able to see the improvements they can make on their grades and their improvements overall if they show up to class,” Busse said.

According to Busse, these policies seek to prepare students for life after high school.

“I’m sure that we are nagging but when you get into the real world, attendance matters in jobs. We just want to train our students for college and life,” Busse said.

According to Busse, attendance records will be available once the semester ends.