Othello High tightens closed‑campus and tardy rules after mid‑trimester review

Othello — District staff told the school board they temporarily revoked off‑campus privileges for a substantial number of high‑school students after a mid‑trimester review and have begun a set of interventions to help students regain privileges. Dr. Perez introduced the update and Kat Atchison, who led the presentation, described the changes.

Atchison said the district ‘‘ended up turning away about 270 freshmen, 167 sophomores and 283 eleventh and twelfth graders’’ from off‑campus lunch privileges because those students were deficient in academics, behavior or attendance. The district has a process to let students earn the privilege back through academic work or behavior interventions, she said.

The superintendent’s office also highlighted new parent communications: color‑coded letters (green, yellow, red) sent every two weeks via ParentSquare in English and Spanish that explain thresholds for leaving campus. Atchison said the letters are intended to make eligibility and consequences clearer to families and to reduce surprises when a student loses privileges.

To address supervision and space constraints, the district has redesigned part of the cafeteria corridor to accommodate about 80 more students and is moving to a two‑lunch schedule to ensure adequate supervision during mealtimes. Parent volunteers are being recruited and trained for limited, non‑supervisory tasks to increase adult presence on campus.

The presentation also emphasized tighter tardy enforcement: Atchison said students who return late from lunch and are marked tardy may be placed into a higher consequence tier under the school’s contract for off‑campus privileges. The district plans ‘‘tardy sweeps’’ and is exploring low‑cost reminders (examples cited: music or bell cues used on other campuses) while noting constraints in speaker coverage across separate buildings.

Board members asked whether excused tardies count toward the sanction process; Atchison said excused absences are excluded and staff are working to distinguish excused vs. unexcused tardies in their systems. The update closed with a reminder that the district is tracking follow‑up interventions (success team meetings, targeted supports) and will return with further progress reports to the board.

Next steps: staff will continue success‑team casework, monitor the two‑lunch arrangement, and report back to the board in a subsequent meeting.