Brooke Loeffler had to spend two days in lunchtime detention at her school last week.
By her grandmother's account, she is a very bright student who rarely gets into trouble.
So Brooke doesn’t understand why she has to spend time in detention away from her friends, sitting by herself and looking at nothing but a wall. After all, she's a kindergartener, and she's 6 years old.
"It was my responsibility to get her ready and get her to school," her father explained. "I failed that responsibility a couple of times. It makes me sad to see my daughter upset for something she doesn’t understand."
Brooke's parents have a newborn baby at home and they have been struggling to adjust their schedule.
After three tardies, Olympia Elementary school enforced its new policy and gave the parents a choice: one hour of detention after school or during lunch for Brooke.
A Judson ISD official said that each school can set its own policies and punishments to combat tardiness and absences. The schools try to work with parents on tardiness issues.
A district official said since Olympia started the policy, it has worked extremely well at curbing late students.
"They have been able to cut down the number of tardies way back -- as much as 90 to 95 percent of the tardies,” Steve Linscomb of Judson ISD said.
Still, Brooke's parents said they feel that the school was not concerned with the circumstances. They want the policy changed to punish the parents and not their kids.
The school district recommends that parents talk with their kids to explain why such a punishment is issued.
By her grandmother's account, she is a very bright student who rarely gets into trouble.
So Brooke doesn’t understand why she has to spend time in detention away from her friends, sitting by herself and looking at nothing but a wall. After all, she's a kindergartener, and she's 6 years old.
"It was my responsibility to get her ready and get her to school," her father explained. "I failed that responsibility a couple of times. It makes me sad to see my daughter upset for something she doesn’t understand."
Brooke's parents have a newborn baby at home and they have been struggling to adjust their schedule.
After three tardies, Olympia Elementary school enforced its new policy and gave the parents a choice: one hour of detention after school or during lunch for Brooke.
A Judson ISD official said that each school can set its own policies and punishments to combat tardiness and absences. The schools try to work with parents on tardiness issues.
A district official said since Olympia started the policy, it has worked extremely well at curbing late students.
"They have been able to cut down the number of tardies way back -- as much as 90 to 95 percent of the tardies,” Steve Linscomb of Judson ISD said.
Still, Brooke's parents said they feel that the school was not concerned with the circumstances. They want the policy changed to punish the parents and not their kids.
The school district recommends that parents talk with their kids to explain why such a punishment is issued.