By Patrick Martell
Staff Writer

At Westford Academy, there has been much discussion this year about the new tardy policy. Last year, first block officially started at 7:35, but students could show up as late as 7:40 and still be marked on time for school. This year that five-minute grace period has been removed with many asking, “Why?”

According to Goldberg, the changing of the policy started with a series of committees, the first being the Handbook Committee. The Handbook Committee consists of a teacher from every department in the school and about five or six students.

They also took referrals from any member of the community as to what’s good and what needs improvement pertaining to the rules and regulations of the school. One of the things brought up was how many students were arriving late, whether it was by couple of minutes or missing first block completely, as well as how many of those students would show up with a Dunkin Donuts coffee in their hand.

Taking all of this into consideration, the late rule was changed.

As Goldberg said, “attendance matters.”

Some students wondered why they did not just change the start time to 7:40 with no five minute grace period. But as Goldberg pointed out, there would also be more traffic later in the morning and this would create a ripple effect through the other classes and would result in school ending at 2:00 instead of 1:55.

As for why you now need a parent note, it is because if you miss first block it is essentially a cut. Too many kids were leaving on time from their house, but showing up to school at 8:30 or later. As the faculty realized, if you had a legitimate excuse for being late such as a doctor’s appointment or a car breakdown, there should be no problem in getting a parent to call it in.

So far Goldberg is receiving very positive reports.

With regards to teachers reactions Goldberg stated, “I have gotten many, many, positive reports from teachers that they’ve never before had so many students in their room, when the class and the day started at 7:35.”

As for those students worried about winter delays, there is no need to worry. Goldberg said that the administration is very willing to give students extra minutes on days of inclement weather or accidents causing delays.