Since switching detentions to Thursday afternoons, student attendance has increased by nearly 60% (Photo courtesy of Evan Haussermann)

After years of struggling to get students to serve Saturday detentions, the administration has moved those detentions to Thursdays.

“Students who didn’t go often had genuine reasons for not being able to make it and the punishment for not going [to an in-school suspension] was also very difficult to enforce,” said Dean Mrs. Laura Clegg.

According to Clegg, only about 20-30% of students assigned to Saturdays would actually show up. This is due to a variety of reasons such as sports, work, and family obligations. 

The switch to Thursday not only means that detentions are now two hours instead of three, but the switch also provides a much more convenient time for kids. Instead of having to wake up early and head to school on a Saturday, students now serve their detention from 3:30-5:30 on Thursdays. 

Attendance rates since the switch have been much higher: over 90% of assigned students now attend detention, according to Clegg.

In previous years, students had two options as to how to fulfill a detention, depending on the offense. Minor offenses resulted in a 30-minute detention that could be served on multiple days of the school week. More serious infractions – such as skipping several classes – would require students to serve a three-hour detention on Saturday mornings.  These morning detentions were referred to as “The Breakfast Club” by both students and staff.

Saturday detentions used to be held in the library starting at 7 am. During this time, students would turn in their phones and were confined to the library for three hours. Although a long-standing policy, this punishment had several drawbacks for staff and students alike.

Ms. Gwen Love was the Saturday detention supervisor and now supervises Thursday detentions. 

“I live in Kenosha,” said Love. “Making the drive all the way here on Saturdays was a long drive for me just to manage the few children that showed.”

Love also noted a productivity increase since the switch from Saturday to Thursday. During detentions, students are supposed to be using the time to do homework and study. Love reports that most students were either too drowsy to be productive or just slept during Saturday detentions.

“There is definitely a rise in productivity for these kids [on Thursdays],” said Love.

One factor that prevents kids from serving their punishment is getting a ride to and from detention. On Saturdays, some students were unable to find transportation to the detentions.

One concern about the new Thursday detentions is that students who take the bus home after school will not have rides. However, Love is able to drive the school-owned vans and buses to take these students home if they do not have a ride.

“The Saturday detentions sucked,” said a student who wishes to remain anonymous. “Now I don’t need to make an extra trip to school and I’m able to get my homework done [during the Thursday detentions].”