Evanston Township High School Principal Quiana McNeal presented data on student attendance and tardiness in her third quarter update to the District 202 Board of Education at its Monday night meeting. 

According to McNeal, approximately 90% of students had less than 5% of their absences labeled as unexcused. The number has stayed consistent throughout the school year, she said. 

In her weekly review of absences, she found that 82-86% of students tallied zero unexcused absences this quarter. She added that most students who have unexcused absences only have one in a week and less than 2% of students have two or more unexcused absences every week. 

Approximately 27-28% of students collected one to two tardies, and 60% of students averaged zero tardies weekly, McNeal said. Although most students do not have tardies, she said they can still add up and stressed the importance of tracking them weekly.

“The majority of our students are consistently getting to class on time, which is encouraging,” McNeal said. “However, there is still a significant portion of students who are experiencing occasional tardiness. We know that even small patterns can accumulate over time and impact learning.”

She also explained how initiatives aimed at keeping students on time operate. McNeal highlighted a system put into place this year to reward students who arrive on time to class, which is about “celebrating kids who are already getting it right.” 

McNeal also talked about a new hall clearance procedure for passing periods that she said will go into place this week. Teachers will shut the doors to their classrooms while dedicated staff members check the halls at unannounced times. 

“The purpose, again, is to ensure students are in class on time, the hallways are safe, but I want to hammer down the overall goal is to encourage healthy, punctual behaviors in our students and maintain an academic-focused atmosphere,” McNeal said.

She next pointed to the late entry procedure, which is intended to limit late arrivals during the first block of the day and after the lunch block — both times when students are returning to the building. The policy requires students who enter the building significantly late to be escorted by a staff member to a designated space after a specific cutoff time.

In that space, the staff member checks in and inquires as to why the student was late. However, McNeal said she has heard that many students are not facing serious problems and simply need to prioritize getting to class on time. Ultimately, she still believes that the policy helps improve visibility of the tardiness issue.

She also discussed collecting feedback on the No Credit Policy, which states that students who garner a set number of absences for a class might not receive credit for it. The policy has been under review because there have been “inequitable outcomes” stemming from it, she said. McNeal added that she will discuss the findings, including what she learns from other schools, at the next board meeting. 

Board member Leah Piekarz said she appreciated McNeal’s idea of analyzing the No Credit Policy’s purpose. Piekarz asked if McNeal had discussed the policy with students and parents, to which McNeal replied she had not.

“I love the approach, especially focusing on the positivity of changing behavior and not necessarily as punishment, and ultimately, you have an academic-focused environment for students,” Piekarz said.

McNeal also spotlighted a practice which rolls over tardies that students have from one year to the next if they do not work the tardies off through approved school programs. She said students expressed concerns about the policy at the ETHS Student Voice Forum, adding that she wants to hear more from students. She also told the board she would bring its sentiments, as well as those of staff, to the next meeting. 

Board member John Martin said he is looking forward to hearing more feedback about the policy, as he said he feels other forms of punishment lack the intended effect.

“The connection with the social probation can be counterproductive, because that’s where we see the connection between the kids that are getting into discipline problems and not having those extracurriculars, so it’s doubling down,” Martin said.

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