Latework Policy Positives
Six to seven classes every day is a great deal of work. With after-school activities and students striving to have an adequate sleep schedule, homework can be a burden especially when missing school.
“If you’re missing one day of school, you’re most likely missing all your classes, and not just one class,” junior Taryn Webster-Bates said.
With all the work from one day piling up, it’s hard to get back on track, especially when the current day’s work is also added to the workload. The school administration has taken note of this issue and changed the policy for make-up work from two days to three days since the day of the absence.
“It was kind of a lot to try and get seven classes worth of work done within two days,” Webster-Bates said.
Before the administration changed the policy of make-up work, teachers could give you a zero percent on any assignment that was late. Now the administration has changed it so that the lowest grade a teacher could give you is a 40 percent.
I am happy with this change because I get very obsessed with my grades, and sometimes I have anxiety when it gets to a low B or even a C. This helped reduce my stress and encouraged me to get my grade back up since it doesn’t seem so out of reach.
I acknowledge and praise the administration for being more understanding and accommodating to the needs of the students.
“I feel like they’re really catching up and becoming more understanding,” Webster-Bates said.
Although not many students miss a significant amount of school, we all get from all the missing work that comes from being sick, field trips or traveling. Overall, three days will help lower the cumulative stress and workload from every class and I’m pleased at the changes the administration has made.
Late Work Policy Negatives
Creek’s new late work policy provides students three days to make-up work per absence for full credit, After that, the minimum grade a teacher can give is a 40 percent.
In previous years, students would be given two days per absence to make up any work, and after that it would be considered late. Following that it was up to the teachers discretion on how it would be graded.
While this new policy prevents students from getting zeros, teachers have set the benchmark in most classes to an automatic 40 percent when it is turned in late, rather than giving it the grade it deserves. This has defeated the whole purpose of the policy.
Many Creek students take rigorous honors and AP classes that already demand heavy workloads. Expecting students to catch up on six classes in just three days—while also keeping up with current work—is unrealistic and stressful.
The strain is even worse for student-athletes, who often stay late after school for practices and games. Balancing athletics with both past and current assignments in such a short window forces impossible choices and leads to falling grades.
“[Athletes] have a small amount of time for their work, this new policy throws their efforts away,” senior Remi Wozniak said.
Many students work part-time jobs, care for siblings, or face family emergencies. Three days per absence does not account for the complexity of these challenges. A one-day absence may be manageable, but extended absences quickly become overwhelming.
Instead of motivating students, teachers take on this policy risks creating burnout, rushed work, and disengagement. Truly following the system would balance accountability with flexibility—encouraging timely completion while recognizing the real challenges students face. Without that balance, Creek’s policy punishes students more than it helps them.
