The Tardy Toll

The detention room, currently room K-101, is empty. The chairs and tables are circled, facing blue walls on which posters display the official detention rules. Computers with dark screens fill the tables, and a sign-in sheet sits heavily on one of the tables in the middle of the room. The AC is quiet because many of the students who were supposed to be here serving detention are missing (again).

At the front of the room, a rolling whiteboard displays a suggested reflection: “Why I have detention today,” and “action plan to improve so it doesn't happen again.” It seems most students will not follow what is recommended for them to do.

On March 6, 2026, no students showed up for their detention hours. However, whenever there are students present, Vice Principal Nicole Heinlein, who hosts detention, “feel[s] proud of them for doing what they need to do and taking care of their responsibilities.”

7:45 AM

The problem often starts in the morning. As the bell rings at 7:45 a.m. for the first period of the day, most students head to class in a timely manner. Others, like junior Tayana Faiva, saunter in late, long after the tardy bell. Everyone has five minutes before the second bell at 7:50 a.m.

One or two slips are fine, but constant tardiness eventually adds up to detention. This is how Faiva began the process of working off her detention hours. After going through it, she planned to “try my best not to [get detention hours].” But she added, it still isn’t certain she’ll be on time.

As of December 19, 2025, according to Heinlein, there have been 201 detentions assigned.

Students are assigned detention hours, she said, when “they receive a behavior referral from a staff member.” The school is required to follow Chapter 19, the State of Hawaii’s Discipline and Behavior Code. The purpose of this, states Heinlein, is to “teach students that negative behaviors have consequences. It is also a time to reflect.”

Beyond encouraging reflection, Heinlein also shares tips with students about how to be proactive learners and how to maintain “a good relationship with your teachers and speak with them if you have issues with tardiness or class cuts.”

The Awareness Gap

Faiva knows very well about detention from having had it. However, some students, like junior Willem Alden Palacio, claim to have never heard of it. “Wait, can you explain what detention hours are?” Palacio asked.

Many students know what detention is, despite having never had it. Yet, they do not know all the norms. Questions like how do you get detention hours, how do you check if you have them, and where do you go to work them off remain a mystery to some.

This lack of clarity may cause last-minute chaos for students as they try to work off their hours before they are allowed to participate in school events.

Lena Granillo, a senior, feels that students should be better informed about detention hours. Some of her peers around the time of senior ball “were completely unaware that they had detention hours they needed to work off.”

She offered an example of a classmate who discovered well after the fact that she “had two hours from freshman year that she didn’t know existed.” Despite this, Granillo claimed, the student was still able to attend one prom but not the other. “Why was she able to go to junior prom with those hours but not senior ball?” she asked. “How are we supposed to serve those hours if we don’t know we have any?”

“If I do have some, I am not aware of them,” says sophomore Kristina Meguro. “I don’t know the rules of detention hours.”

Heinlein, however, is sure that “students ARE well-informed about their detentions, actually.” Whenever she issues a detention, she says, “I email the student and send the parent a TalkingPoints message.” TalkingPoints is a messaging app that sends communications directly to parents’ phones.

She adds that students could also find out about detention policies via the student handbook, the notices taped to her door, or the signs hanging in K-101. She added that herself, Principal Richard Carosso, and Vice Principal Christopher Webber are available to answer any further questions.

Real-World Roadblocks

Knowing about detention is one thing, but avoiding it is a real challenge for Granillo, who thinks that the school should be more lenient and “make it more understanding for first period classes.” Getting to school in the morning is hard, she explained. “It can be annoying—between younger siblings, picking up friends, and having your parking spot taken!”

Faiva agrees with Granillo about younger siblings, noting that “I had to drop off my little brothers in the morning… I missed a little of the first period.” Yet, she believes it still shouldn’t be an excuse because “I feel like it is something I could have, maybe, planned for earlier.”

“I Think It Is Stupid”

Students are split on whether detention hours are an effective way to teach responsibility. Some say they don’t need to go that far since some don’t take it seriously, while others from difficult homes might not want to share the real reason they are late. Others say it is a good way for people to take ownership and learn from their mistakes.

“I think it is stupid,” says senior Hailey Jade Napora. When it comes to detention hours, she thinks the school should replace them with a “warning from my teacher.” “They texted my parents that I would have gotten detention hours if I kept doing that,” said Napora, who claimed the warnings were enough to help her show up on time.

While it can be an opportunity for students to learn responsibility, Granillo also understands that “not many students take it seriously,” and they “end up stressing because it’s prom soon and they have four detention hours they need to work off in a week and have no time.”

Asked about unexpected detention hours, Faiva says she “would deal with it by figuring out how many hours I have, and then figuring out what days I could do them.” She would use this time to be productive and “do homework.”

Likewise, sophomore Judson Talana, who has gone through the process of working off detention hours, feels “it’s a good way to catch up on work,” but it is also “really boring and really quiet.” When asked if he reflects during detention, he stated, “no, not at all.”

Ms. Heinlein understands that “detention doesn’t work for everybody... so, if you guys have other ideas, we’re open to hearing it.”

Some students' reluctance to share the real reason they are late creates an environment where students are being punished for personal reasons they are not comfortable disclosing. Math teacher Andrew Akahi says that if people are late and they don’t wanna share why, they should “try to build a strong relationship with at least one current teacher or counselor.”

While teachers and staff “are compassionate about special cases,” says Akahi, “students also need to take ownership and understand that walking in 25 minutes late because ‘the Starbucks line was long’ isn't an acceptable excuse.”

Meguro wraps it up, saying that “if they have a ton of unexcused absences, I think they deserve it... I hope they learn from their mistakes and strive to be better for the future.”