Principal Matthew Cortez has created an incentive to try to reduce tardiness. If tardiness is reduced to 85 percent, then Cortez plans to allow students to give him a three-inch mohawk, on May 30 in the commons.
The incentive plan also includes assistant principals Otto Zilgitt and Bill Ferrara. Zilgitt has agreed to shave his head entirely, and Ferrara will also receive a Mohawk, if tardiness goes down by 95 percent. The haircuts will be given by randomly selected students in each grade. The only requirement is that the students were not tardy at all for the duration of May.
As an added incentive, students in each class that are tardy-free for a week will be entered into a drawing. Each student has the opportunity to be entered 15 times, once a week, for each class. A few of these students will be drawn and invited to a staff hosted barbeque. Cortez and Ferrara will be preparing the food. The details of this barbeque have yet to be decided but Cortez says he hopes to be able to customize the food. Volunteers to help with the barbeque and food suggestions are still being taken.
On the incentive, Cortez said, “In a perfect world any tardiness is too much. We endeavor to prepare all of our students for the real world, and in the real world, being on time is imperative to your success. I am hoping that this sends a clear message that being on time is imperative to an education.”
Some students feel that the program will do little to convince students to get to class on time. Senior Taryn Kyser said, “I do not think it will work. People don’t care about it. It’s his head.”