There are many opinions on the late work policy. The late work policy is different for many people, and many like it, have no opinions on it, hate it, or want to change it.
Students’ Point of View: Lisa Dotson is a 15-year-old freshman at Lewiston High School. She is pretty happy with the late work policy. She likes that the teachers’ late-work policies are all similar.
“Mr. Malm’s late work policy is really good. So is Mr. Maddies,” Dotson said.
She likes that both options allow students to submit their work until the end of the unit. It makes it easier for people who are sick, on vacation, etc., to turn in work they missed without any docked points (unless the student was gone past the end of the unit).
“I don’t really turn in late work; it’s kinda a thing within my family,” said Dotson with pride.
To Dotson, docked points make sense, but not docking points seems nicer to kids. In her experience, teachers generally allow students to submit late assignments. Teachers want kids to come up and ask them for extra time when they’re gone. They will normally give an extra day or two.
She would recommend that students also do it when they are gone, so they don’t have to deal with it when they get back.
Teacher’s Point of View: Karen Lott is a teacher at Lewiston High School. She teaches five sections of Honors 9 English and one section of Standard English 9. Lott believes that every teacher should have a late work policy, but she doesn’t think teachers should dock points for late work. Kids shouldn’t take advantage of it, though.
“Kiddos should be able to come back to make up work,” Lott said.
She gives up to seven days to make up if a student is absent. She keeps a note of it by using the PowerSchool absence marker, so she can remember to follow up with that student later.
Lott recently had a student come into her room with an assignment that was late because she was gone.
Lott wants her students to ask themselves, “Am I proficient? If not, how can I get my grade up?”
Late work can sometimes affect her view of a student.
“If they repeat this behavior, it shows me something more is going on, whether it’s parents fighting or lack of sleep,” Lott said.
Communication is essential in her classroom (and most others).
“Instead of hiding your papers away and saying, later I’ll just slip it in the bin, just talk to me and I usually will give you a day or two,” Lott said. “Just talk to me.”
Principal’s Point of View: Another point of view is that of David Kronemann, the principal of Lewiston High School. He said he doesn’t like the current late work policy, which says that students get graded on attendance and not on academics. He and his team are trying to find a way to change it up.
Kronemann doesn’t like teachers docking points for late work, he said.;
“That it isn’t their real grade and what they know, but just a reflection of their actions,” Kronemann explained
He wants grades to show the students’ parents what they actually learn.
Earlier, as a middle school teacher, Kronemann had a rule: the Learning Lunch. He made this so that students who had missing work, or Fs and Ds on assignments, would come in and make their work up, no matter what.
“It started with lots of kids,” he said. “Then, as kids realized that it was taking away their free time, the number of kids coming in reduced substantially. Students love their free time.”
Some students who earned As through Cs were assigned to Learning Lunch if their parents chose it for them.
“It was so that kids could learn instead of just skipping work,” Kronemann said.
Students also had to spend extra time studying and learning with him before retaking a test. And while Kronemann was a teacher, he would often check in with parents when a student was absent.
“As parents figured out what I was trying to do, to figure out their kids’ grades for work, not actions, they were eager to join in,” Kronemann said. ”In their grade reports and such, it showed their first attempt grade and their second attempt grade. Most parents loved that.”
“It’s our duty as adults and teachers to teach you kids,” he said.
