Call for Parent Assistance

I will date myself with this memory: At 10:00 PM a voice on the T.V. and radio announces, “It’s ten o’clock. Do you know where your children are?” Looking back through today’s eyes, such an announcement seems a great intrusion on our parental rights. We ignore the fact that as a community, we had established a ten o’clock curfew for our children.

As a School District, we face increasing expectations to step-in and act in areas considered by many to be the domain of parents. Last week, we met with our eighth grade students to discuss a number of inappropriate behaviors that are impacting our school. Parents, you can help us as we seek to provide a safe and appropriate learning environment for the students in our care. Please consider the following:

- Appropriate Dress and Attire for School. Are you aware what your child wears to school? We see an increase in ‘revealing’ attire, as well as shirts with inappropriate messages for our school environment. TALK TO YOUR STUDENT about what they wear to school!

- Appropriate Use of Cell Phones. Text messaging during class time is not allowed in Salmon District Schools. You can help by NOT texting your student during class time! As a parent, CHECK THE MESSAGES on your student’s phone. You can see both the time and content of messages being sent and received by your students.

- Cyber-Bullying by Text Message and FaceBook. We face a real challenge as students use both text messaging and FaceBook postings to harass and bully each other. Students then confront each other face-to-face at school, or fail to come to school in order to avoid confrontations. As a parent, CHECK MESSAGES ON CELL PHONES AND FACEBOOK!

- Sexually Explicit Conversations. We face an increasing number of complaints from students about both electronic and in-person comments that are inappropriate for school. While it is not Salmon School District’s intent to dictate morality to our students, we are responsible for providing a safe and appropriate learning environment for our students. Sexually explicit comments fall under State and Federal regulations regarding sexual harassment. Your student has a right to attend school in an environment free of such harassment.

Parents, please help us as we seek to maintain a safe and appropriate learning environment for your children. I welcome the opportunity to discuss any of these concerns with you. Don’t hesitate to email or call.