And if s/he wont put it in writing, but instead only tells you or your group verbally his/her position, then write a nice little letter afterwards, and something to effect of:
"This is what I heard, did you hear the same"
And then, if you dont get any negation, you take your letter to the ACLU and or state dept of ed.
Oh, and , do send your letter to the principal REGISTERED. what better use of PTO funds, than supporting the KIDS' interests - their parent involvement!!!!!!!!!!!
Originally posted by grlzluvtrux2: However...she has further shut the parents out of the school and has stated that they are not a part of the school community. We, as parents, are more of a liability than an assett. This has brought outrage from the parents.
We want to be there NOW to learn who their friends are, what their interests are etc. so when they reach middle school and high school and start to shut us out we already have an idea about these things. This is being taken away from us. 90% of the activities that go on in school that would include parent involvement have been cancelled.
I am the volunteer coordinator amongst other things at the school. After speaking with many parents who are aware of the worsening situation I have been told not to call them for help because if the administration doesn't want them in the school they won't go in. This puts me in a very tight spot and I don't know what to do.
Please help!
I despise the ACLU but this what they were originally founded for discrimimination, have the principal put it in writing that parents arent part of the school community (lets see how smart she/he really is) then go up the chain of command from his super to the Dept of Edu
<font size=""1""><font color="#"black"">Liberalism is not an affilation its a curable disease. </font></font><br /><br><font color="#"gray"">~Wisdom of Shawnshuefus</font><br /><br><font color="#"blue""><font size=""1"">The punishment which the wise suffer, who refuse to take part in government, is...
If nice talk and efforts dont work, and reasoning with your new principal, ask if your school receives Title One funds....if it does, there is a parent involvement law that stipulates what the school must allow in terms of parent involvement. Maybe you can google these terms to learn more, or ask your superintendent.
Talk is best, but when all else fails, sometimes you gotta throw the book at people.
Does your school district have handbooks that they hand out at the beginning of the year? Most do and ours specifically says what parents (and everyone else) are and aren't allowed to do. It says the any parent may be present during not more than 30 minutes of the school day on their own accord-which means without being asked. It goes on to say that unless the parent does something that requires the building administrator to ask them to leave, they are allowed to take advantage of this. I would do some research and see if your district has something similar to this to help your case.
The irony of commitment is that it’s deeply liberating-in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life. --Anne Morris
First, I'm sorry about your late principal. It's so hard on a community when a treasured member passes away. How touching it was to hear that you all came together to heal.
Your new principal sounds overly cautious but sometimes they seem to feel that a blanket policy is easier to enforce. I wonder how things ran at her previous school? Maybe she's reacting to old ghosts.
My advice would be to tread lightly. Continue holding PTO meetings, including the principal and staff. Show her how much you've done in the past and how much the students and staff have benefitted from it. It may take some time to win her over. She's playing it safe and will probably respect you all for giving her room to make her way into the community. If you continue to work as a team, perhaps you can eventually get back to the way things were before.
And it isn't all bad to limit parents running in and out with forgotten lunches, books, instruments, etc. My own son's school is pretty loose but still requires that all items be left in the office. The students are called down to pick them up. The office staff does not shuttle their things around for them.
Good luck to you and your team as you make your way through this transition period. And stay positive because you will make it through!
Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same."
"The ultimate aim of karate lies not in victory or defeat but in the true perfection of one's character."
My advice to you would be to take your concerns to the principal in the nicest way possible. You catch more flies with honey and if you go after this woman then you are bound to make her even more determined to keep you all out. Make an appointment to speak with her and let her know your concerns, let her know the parents are not happy with this and ask her if there is some common ground you can come to in order to make a more equitable solution.
In the past we had a principal who was very hard lined and he did not want parents in the school. The parents that went after him got zero results. Myself and another woman just went out of our way to form a cordial relationship with him. He eventually became very comfortable with us and then approached us to do all kinds of things in the school for him and we became just about the only parents who were allowed in the school. At the time we were just regular PTO members and not board members. People always asked us how we got to do what we did and basically it came down to the fact that we were the parents who were not screaming at him and attacking him and we just really got him to accept us and look to us for the things that he needed.
