To the editor:

This past week the Barrington High School start time of 7:40 was strictly enforced. I do not have a problem with this however many individuals showed up to the school with minutes to spare according to the standardized time on their phones and the door was locked as they were trying to enter. This is militaristic and does not accomplish the desired goal of getting a student into the classroom on time.    

Approximately 130 students waited outside on Jan. 31, to receive a late pass which involves a staff person signing the student in and another staff person providing the time stamp. This method is incredibly time-consuming and antiquated, wasting staff time as well as student learning. Each student is given a student identification card with a bar code attached which should be used to handle just such a situation. There are programs such as “HeroK12” that make handling tardiness more efficient and also addresses reinforcing positive behaviors. 

When NBC 10 showed up on Friday, Feb. 2, to capture the ongoing lateness issue, students were allowed to enter several minutes after 7:40. Clearly this issue is an embarrassment for the school on how it is being handled. This is the year 2018 with programs and computers, why doesn’t the school and school committee look into more modern ways of handling the lateness issue more effectively and efficiently.     

Amy Westrick

Barrington