Spring is an incredibly busy time, but I am at a loss for how we suddenly got to May, which feels like a full-tilt sprint. When talking with a head of school friend the other day, she said that she was in the “100 Days of May.” It’s incredibly apt for all that happens in our schools this month. Although, as I look back and realize that I have been traveling 10 of the last 12 weeks, April wasn’t much better. All of that being said, some very serious topics are coming out the woodwork for us, as they often do towards the end of the year.
End of the Year Student Issues
Wow, these past couple of weeks have illustrated the breadth of student issues we face at the end of the year.
Student Tragedies. This time of year sees more than its fair share of student tragedies. Whether by car, boat, or other accidents, we all seem to hold our breath through spring’s ritual end-of-year events. Whatever you have to do to remind students and parents to have fun, but truly be careful, is worth it. Schools have been experimenting for a while with different timing for events, providing alternative parties after prom, etc. Explore these options as you wrap up this year and think about the next.
Student Mental Health. This year, and particularly this spring, we’ve seen a number of student mental health-related issues both in our schools and in higher education. In almost 15 years with NAIS, I have never received more calls or read more news stories about suicidal thoughts or attempts among students, both in K-12 and higher education. MIT has had four suicides in just over 12 months and is trying to take steps to address the issues. William and Mary has also been struggling with these events. Palo Alto high schools have also, unfortunately, made the news. Finally, this piece from ESPN about a student at UPenn is an incredibly important one, particularly given how quickly the events unfolded. Our schools need to look carefully, not just at the pressure our students experience in school and throughout the college admissions process, but at the skills we give our students to balance themselves and manage their expectations and the expectations of those around them as they move beyond our schools into higher education and beyond. NAIS will be doing more work on this topic as part of our student health and well-being work.
Student Discipline. ‘Tis definitely the season for student discipline issues. As some of you may know, all of the angry parent phone calls to our office come to me. This week featured a parent who was upset because her son had been expelled six weeks from graduation and she believed the disciplinary process was unfair to her son because of his learning differences. When I have these conversations, I generally hear the parent out and let him or her talk through the entire issue, and then I try to get the parent to think about what, exactly, he or she wants. At the end of this parent’s description, I pointed out that her son had supplied marijuana to other students, had most likely driven high on campus during the school day, and then had the marijuana in his possession on the campus when he was caught.
While some schools may work with this family to limit disruption (maybe allowing the student to graduate but not allowing him to participate in end-of-the-year events, etc.), many would also do as this school did and expel the student. This is one example among many of what can occur when students get a whiff of end-of-high school or end-of-year freedom. Schools, please make sure that you are reviewing and following your disciplinary processes and procedures, and that you are clear in whether you make accommodations for students with learning differences in those processes. Also, when it comes to drinking and drugs, revisit your policies on paper and with students and families so that there is no confusion about where the schools stands. Many schools have moved away from zero tolerance policies and require counseling, drug testing, and potentially other measures of follow up with students. Students-- and parents-- need to be reminded of your school’s policies here, which will also help you later if something should come to pass. These resources may help, and we have another one coming up.
Sex and Students. I promise that I am not obsessed with this issue, but our students are. End-of-the-year events – prom, prom parties, pre-prom parties, graduation parties, etc., are all opportunities for more experimentation by our students. This short video about tea and consent definitely caught my eye (you read that right: tea). I know that it is not in every school’s culture to get into sex education, but I contend that a lot of the sexual assault issues in higher education are taking root in k-12.
And the Truly Legal…
Proposed Overtime Rule Amendments
One topic I am watching carefully are the proposed changes to the overtime regulation exemptions that should be released any day. These regulations will raise the minimum salary requirements for exempt employees. This may be a hot issue for us in the next year. Read up on it!
E-rate. You would think I would need to switch gears to go from sex-ed to E-rate, but I don’t. If your school is facing a student to student sexual assault case, one of the first questions is whether you need to follow the Title IX guidelines on sexual assault (here’s a quasi-translation). We will have more guidance for our schools in this area soon, but you should know that Title IX is triggered when your school takes federal financial assistance. E-rate was not considered federal financial assistance when it was created, but in parties to some lawsuits argue that it is in order to trigger other federal laws. We have this piece on the topic, which may prove helpful. E-rate is launching into bigger funding, making this question more important to our schools. What laws would receipt of federal financial assistance trigger? Check this doc out.
Benefits. This is the time of year when the tax questions start coming out, although it is still a bit early. However, two schools asked about tuition remission and whether teachers could pay for tuition out of pre-tax dollars and, similarly, whether a teacher could choose between salary and tuition remission. The short answer is “no.”
Transgender Students. If your school has not worked with transgender students and their families yet, I promise that this is coming and this summer is the perfect time to really start thinking about how your school will work with these families. More and more calls and emails are coming in about this topic.
Hiring Resources. I mentioned the new hiring publication in my last blog entry, and during my travels of the last couple of months, our wonderful Media Team made it beautiful and posted it, and we have a recorded webinar to go with it! Start brushing up for the remainder of this season and for next.
I am off to Vanderbilt for the NAIS Summit on the Science of Learning and 21st Century Schools in Nashville this week. Follow along on the Idea Exchange community in NAIS Connect and on Twitter! We will also be providing a cool course pack for your “light” summer reading.
In the meantime, stay safe and enjoy the spring!
Debra