Not welcome?

Well, here we are, the end of the 3rd week of school for the 2010-2011 school year. I may have mentioned last year that they got a new principal. Looking back, she really didn't do much to mess up the wonderful school we had. Had, as in it's no longer that way. I don't think the kids have noticed much (except for the fact that there are no chairs in music this year and they have to sit on the floor on assigned 'stars' made out of paper and stuck to the floor with duct tape. At least they still have music.) But life for the parents has changed drastically.

First off, the vibe I and other parents are getting is that we are not welcome in the school. Like physically not welcome in the school. There is much to go into and I will save you all of the details but we have been told in not so many words that we are not to go into the school to pick up our kids or to speak to the teacher. This may seem the norm to some of you. If so, I would love to hear from you. But in the past our school has been very welcoming and warm. We have been encouraged to come in and observe in any of the classes when we felt the need or desire.

I was told today that I could not go in the school after the bell rang. By the janitor. Even though the principal told us at our back to school rally that we were welcome in the school after the bell rings. That didn't sit well with me and I spoke to LM's teacher about it. She agreed that the school no longer had the warm feeling and she was depending on the parents to let her know so she could relay our issues to the principal.

Our school district only provides school buses to the middle school students so most parents are at the school daily for drop of and pick up. I know that if we had buses we would not have these same issues but I am not sure we would have the parental involvement that we have either.

Next week we have our new volunteer training. This is the first year for it so it should be interesting. After that we should be allowed to volunteer, I think. I'll find out more on Monday. Maybe it will be a more welcoming environment when we're volunteering not just walking through the hall for 3 minutes of the day. Don't you know I'll keep you posted.

Part of me wants to keep pushing the issue. Part of me says I have done my part, expressed my concern and it is what it is. I am sure I will do the latter. I have been on this planet long enough to know that some things just aren't worth a confrontation.

So, you moms, teachers and former teachers out there... do you feel welcome at your kids schools?

Comments

Laurie Anne said…
This is such a hard issue. On one hand you want the school to be open and inviting, you also have to respect that fact that teachers have jobs to do. When I was teaching there were parents who had trouble understanding that I didn't have time to chat with them at the beginning of the day (I was busy trying to get students settled and starting to work) Most got it, but some would just "hang around". I think parents should be able to be on school grounds during the day as long as they aren't stopping the learning. The bottom line is that parents are a crucial part of a school and it is only in everyone best interest to foster that partnership :0)
August 22, 2010 at 3:12 PM
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