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It is important to educate parents, students, staff, district administrators, and the board of education regarding the proper chain of command when issues develop. This starts at the top with the board of education. The superintendent can make building administrators’ lives much easier if he/she can work with the board regarding parent contacts and proper procedure when parents voice concerns.
Board members should be good listeners, but for the system to work well, they should steer these concerns back thru proper channels. If it is a classroom concern, issues should first be directed to the classroom teacher. A building-wide concern should be taken to the respective building principal, and so on. The vast majority of board members in most communities understand the importance of this and the Iowa Association of School Boards does a great job of supplying information to new board members about how to properly fill their role.
It would be very difficult to find a win-win solution in a teacher-parent conflict if a board member has already told the parent that they agree with them and will make sure the issue is resolved accordingly. The result would be a resentful teacher and erosion in the principal’s effectiveness. A board member, however, that listens to the parent, tells them that they really need to start by setting up a conference with the teacher, and if not satisfied with the resolution to contact the principal, is helping to establish opportunities for win-win resolutions. Accordingly, the superintendent should deliver the same message when contacted with a parent concern.
The principal should respond in a similar manner. If at all possible, a resolution between parent and teacher, parent and coach/sponsor should be developed at the lowest level of concern and at the point of origination. The princpal’s role is to facilitate communication, help set up a meeting, or mediate if requested. This procedure takes more time in the short term but saves time and stress in the long term. |
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