Students who arrive late to class face a new consequence this year. Northwood’s detention program requires assigned students to spend an hour in silence after the academic day.

The program was introduced to address attendance and repeated tardiness by providing students with a more immediate consequence. Detention is held Mondays and Wednesdays under the supervision of Mr. Tommy Spero.

Students assigned to detention must report to the lecture hall at 6:30 p.m. and remain there in silence until 7:30 p.m.

Last year, students generally received disciplinary points for arriving late. However, school administrators determined that the points did not always discourage repeated tardiness.

“We were trying to find a consequence that was more immediate than just collecting points,” Head of Student Life Ms. Noel Carmichael said.

The point system remains part of Northwood’s disciplinary process. Students can receive points for different infractions, and accumulating enough points can result in assignment to work crew.

“It is their responsibility to own up to their mistake and make sure that in that 5 second decision on whether or not to snooze the alarm or just simply not attend class that they make the right one next time”, detention supervisor Tommy Spero said. 

Carmichael added that attendance problems can also create additional work for teachers who must help students catch up on missed material.

“We felt that really what a student is doing when they skip a class is creating more work for the teacher, who has to then catch them up,” Carmichael said. “So, in a way, detention is a way of taking away their free time as a direct result of them doing that to their teachers.”

The program is still in its early stages. As the school year continues, administrators will be able to evaluate whether detention reduces tardiness and other attendance problems.