parental notification of reprimands

[Debi]

I'm wondering, how would any of you feel if your 5th grader came home and told you she received a written reprimand and neither the vice principal or teacher bothered to contact you about it? Do you think a teacher and/or administrator has an obligation to inform the parent of a disciplinary action such as a written reprimand?

[Mark Nylander]

According to Knox County Schools disciplinary policy (http://www.kcs.k12tn.net/policy/j/jcc.pdf), the school does not have to notify the parent unless it's a level IV misbehavior (acts or threats of violence). However, the policy does not list a "written reprimand" as a disciplinary option, so if that's what your child received, it's against the Knox County Schools policy. It may have been a level II offense, where the student is given a verbal reprimand and "the record of offense is maintained by the principal".

Now, I think school should be obliged to inform parents of any and all disciplinary actions concerning their kid(s), but that's not the current written policy. Maybe something to talk to the school board representatives about and have the policy changed.

[Debi]

What I'm asking is, do you, as a parent, feel that if your child is involved in any disciplinary issue that is significant enough a written documentation/reprimand occurs, do you feel it's the principal's obligation as parent to contact you and discuss it? Would you be angry if your child got a written reprimand and no one bothered to contact you?

What does that say about an administrator who's willing to carry out disciplinary action against your child but that it's none of your business, because that's exactly what it says to me.

[Mark Nylander]

It has happened to me, and of course it made me upset. It doesn't make sense that the school system policies do not include parent notification for all misbehaviors.

[Debi]

So what can the school board members do to encourage better communication? Why does administration act as if we do not have a partnership in issues with our children?

Yet another example of why the public is not more vested in the schools. We are continually told by school administration we are not welcomed to be involved.

[Debi]

Again, I welcome school board member input on this issue.

[Marty Koontz]

Replying to the several posts seen thus far: according to Nylander's response, the County's policy does not require parents to be informed. So we see there is no legal obligation. I would say, however, that there is a moral obligation for teachers/administrators to notify, by which I mean, their own consciences ought to tell them that notification is the right thing to do. The flip side of this is the part parents play in the scenario. As a mother of two middle-schoolers, I have found that the best way to get school staff to communicate with me is for me to initiate communication with them. I make contact with teachers early on in the school year in order to begin developing a relationship with them. If a problem later crops up, I've already laid the groundwork for good communication with the teacher(s) involved. At the schools my children have attended thus far, I have found that on the whole, teachers WELCOME and ENCOURAGE communication from parents. But even if they don't, I'm going to communicate anyway. It can be really frustrating; in elementary school, the older the children got, the less welcome I as a parent felt. Middle school has been a whole different story - our middle school (Vine) WANTS parent involvement and communication and I have ALWAYS felt welcome. Are they perfect at it? No, but then neither am I. The communication road runs both ways. If your school doesn't encourage it, do it anyway: be there; talk to them; get to know them. Your child's education and future are at stake.

[Debi]

You mean such as volunteering to plan Christmas parties, going on field trips, coming to have lunch regularly with my children, and helping administrator's with their child's complex medical needs? Gee, I did all that.

[Karen Carson]

I, as a parent, would absolutely expect to know if any of my children were given a written reprimand. I think it is important to know so that we can discuss with our kids their behavior and the consequences. When a child receives a written reprimand, do they have to bring a copy home to you and return it with a parents signature?
Karen

[Debi]

Yes, 3 days after the fact. I'm talking about taking the time to pick up the phone and say, "We're having an issue and need to talk." A signed note days after an event is not communication. And, because I disagreed with how it was handled I will not sign the form. I find the incessive parental signature requirement offensive. That is not communication. Used to, if there was a behavior issue parents were expected to come to the school for a conference. Now we aren't even welcomed to conference.

Should we start requiring teacher signature every time we have an issue with something in the child's classroom? I bet there's not a teacher out there willing to sign such a statement.

[Karen Carson]

Hi Debbie,
I wasn't suggesting that a signature was the end of communication but instead saw that as the opening. I would hope that no one would be expected to sign something they didn't agree with, or wanted more information on. It is my expectation that whenever a parent calls a teacher or administrator, they will receive a call back within a reasonable amount of time (48-72 hours). The board and school administrators are working on this, but realize that there is still significant work to be done in this area. What can I do specifically to help? What suggestions do you and others have to truly embrace parental involvement? I'm very open to new ideas as well as methods of identifying those schools that excel and those that don't.
Karen

[Travis McGaha]

It's been awhile since I've been here but I loved the interaction on the board. Debi: Do you honestly think a teacher would give you their signature for "anything?" I like your thinking but most teachers that I have met consider themselves above talking to the peasantry (they are cordial when necessary.) While not all are as elitist as this sounds, many harbor this idea that they (and only they) are professionals. Being professionals, a simple pre-written paper with a rubber stamp and your child's name on it should be good enough for you.
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This is not altogether unforgivable. Think about this amount of time:
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1. Time doing the job as a teacher: 7.5 hours (ending at 3:15 PM)
2. Time driving home: 20 minutes (ending at 3:35)
3. Time preparing for the next day's class: 15 minutes per class / 4 different classes = 60 minutes (ending at 4:35)
4. Time grading papers of students: 2 minutes per child/ 30 children per class/ 4 different classes per day = 4 hours (from 8:35)
5. Time for Supper (prep and eating or driving and eating) = 1 hour (ending at 9:35 PM)
6. Time for own family 1.5 hours (ending at 11:05 PM)We know that teachers do not actually do this in this order every single day.
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I'm like you, I would love a phone call if something was truly horrible. But realistically, do you take this teacher out to eat? Do you invite this teacher over to have Sunday dinner? I understand that you did all of the right stuff, but this teacher reminds me of that Janet Jackson song "What Have You Done For Me, LATELY!"
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Teachers are prone to calling friends... people they trust... even my own aunt admitted that she called an unruly child's parents because she grew up with the daddy. She didn't just know that child's dad, that child's dad was well acquainted with my aunt's brothers and sisters. He was a "trusted" friend growing up. That "trust" is lost on people with whom we would never associate were it not for our children's involvement or our careers bringing us into contact.

[Debi]

Hey, I'm the first to say teachers have a rough schedule, too little pay, and way too much crap. But how much of this is brought on with stupidity? I think it's best summarized as Andy Griffin vs. Barney Fife. You have a school system trying to walk the letter of a rule without any use of common sense, like Barney trying to arrest a group of church women for talking on a sidewalk. Then you have parents who expect the school system to employee a little Andy Griffin & understand that rules are made as guides, not to be used by blind robots without any sense.

Here's an example. At the first of the year I was at a parent night for another child. My oldest forgot her homework, was crying and torn up. Part of me wanted to teach her a lesson about responsibility, part of me wanted to see the poor kid get her homework done -- heck, I never gave a crap if I did my homework. So, while we were there I told her to go ask someone if they would let her into the classroom. She found a janitor who knew her, he took her, unlocked the door, and she walked to her desk to get her papers when a staff person stopped her at her desk, telling her she was not allowed to be in the classroom after hours. This staff person brought her to me, telling me she (staff person) could not permit my daughter to take anything from the classroom.

I told her I understood, that they are teaching kids responsibility, you can't have things go missing in the classroom, etc, but since my daughter was at the desk already and she was right there, why couldn't she let her go ahead and get her work, that obviously this kid was concerned enough about her schoolwork to want to do her homework and it seemed to me we should try to encourage that. This staff person kept saying she could not, I finally stated, no, it's not that she could not, it's that she chose not to, to at least be honest.

Barney vs. Andy. It's the same crap like this all the time. This is the problem. No one wants to use any common sense. Rules weren't created to robot the world, they were created to be guidelines. Has our society really reached such a dreadful low that we cannot foster any independent thinking in KCS staff, much less the kids? If we want to teach character, doesn't it begin with using some common sense?

There have been recent discussions about why the community isn't more involved in the schools. These reasons are exactly why. Barney repelled people, Andy welcomed people.

Remember when Andy left for a day and Barney had the entire town locked up and all of them mad? This is what KCS is doing to our community by trying to Barney Fife everything. Bring back Andy is all I'm saying.