1. When your child is late, they miss crucial morning routines. These routines (e.g. attendance, calendar, morning message, etc.) anchor the day and students feel lost if they miss them.
2. Students miss instruction. Teachers hit the ground running each day and often late students enter midway through instruction, thus causing teachers to repeat lessons. It gets crazier when numerous students stumble in at different times and the teacher has to reteach several lessons rather than supporting students in need.
3. There's usually a taxi chain of kids waiting for late slips in the office. Mrs. Kumagawa and Mrs. Carson are multi-taskers, but the large amount of late slips needed each day, pull them away from their work.
4. One day a week, our class has Drama and Music first thing in the morning. They only see Ms. Park once a week. If they miss half a class, it becomes very difficult for the student to join in with what the rest of the class is working on. It also makes assessment difficult for Ms. Park when she hasn't had complete attendance.
Thank you for listening. This isn't about one or two lates due to emergency. This is about chronic lateness. If your child is late more than ten times, teachers are now required to contact parents and if lateness continues, the office becomes involved and a letter comes home.
