I Once Called a Parent Every Day For a Month to let them Know Their Child Was Failing
My former principal told me to call every time the child fell below a D
I was at a parent-administration meeting regarding a student because the student was failing my class. I had made one call to let the parent know that the kid was failing the class. The last contact was by email. Apparently, it wasn’t enough because the 504 plan said teachers needed to call the parent whenever the child fell below a D or was absent from school.
The meeting was during quarter 3. My former principal told me I didn’t follow the IEP. The kid was failing because he didn’t come to school and he didn’t do work while he was in school. At the end of the year, the kid missed almost 70% of school.
I was upset at my former principal because I thought I did my due diligence. A former colleague told me to follow the IEP. I told my former colleague that meant I would have to call the parent every day. She said, “So, call the parent every day.”
So, for the next 30 days, I called the parent every day because the student’s grade was an F or the kid missed school.
By the end of the month, the parent was upset that I called every day. The school changed the 504 plan after that. For that stunt I pulled, I got a verbal reprimand because I didn’t use my judgment. I followed the 504 to the detail. The student failed my class along with 4 others that year.
Final Thought
I got in trouble for not following the 504 plan. I also got in trouble for following the 504 plan.
The kid eventually dropped out of school and received his GED, high school equivalent.
I called every day because I wanted to stick it to my former principal and also shed light on the ridiculous 504 plan that was in place before I became the student’s teacher.
Even with all the technology today, calling parents is a must because the number one excuse I always hear from parents is, “I didn’t know my child was failing.”