Problems Are Rampant when the Principal is Married to a Teacher

Having been a teacher in a public high school for almost 25 years, I know there are many problems that the school cannot fix. They can do little about the crucial first five years of a student's life. They cannot provide a stable home life for every student. They cannot force a parent to become active in a child's education.

I do get frustrated, as both a teacher and a parent, when I encounter problems that a school district can fix. All the improvement requires in most cases is a vote by the district's board of education.

The most immediate fixable problem is one that concerns school employees. Too many districts allow husbands and wives to work in the same building, even though one is an administrator and the other a teacher.

I first encountered this problem as a young teacher. The assistant principal was married to the business teacher. I had never really thought about the fact that my boss was married to his employee until a discipline issue arose during the spring quarter. A young man in my freshman English class confronted me and called me an unprintable name. I of course referred him to the assistant principal, who punished the student with a three day suspension from school. He returned to my class after the suspension had been completed.

Less than a week later, the business teacher had a similar confrontation with a different young man. The same profane word had been directed at her, only in this case the assistant principal's punishment was much harsher. The student who had verbally insulted his wife was given a ten day suspension and was recommended for expulsion. The student also was forced to withdraw from the business class to avoid future confrontations with the assistant principal's wife. Obviously this was a case where an administrator's relationship with a teacher resulted in students receiving different punishments for the same offense.

This year I experienced this problem in my role as a parent. My daughter's sixth grade teacher, Mrs. E., is married to the school's principal. Mrs. E. on two occasions neglected to enter a graded assignment into the computer grade sheet. The first assignment was a minor vocabulary quiz, worth only twenty points. Still, my daughter had gotten an A on the quiz, so it would have helped her overall average had the grade been entered. I overlooked this first error, knowing from first hand experience that teachers occasionally forget to enter a grade.

The second time it occurred, I could not be so forgiving. My daughter showed me the assignment, which had been graded and handed back to her. When I checked the computer grade sheet on line, the assignment was nowhere to be seen. I waited a few days to allow Mrs. E. more time to get the grades updated. After almost a week, the assignment had still not been entered.

I emailed Mrs. E. to remind her to please enter the assignment in the computer, since that high grade would boost my daughter's average. Mrs. E. simply replied that she had entered all the grades, implying that I must have missed it when I checked online. I knew I had not been mistaken, since the grade on my daughter's paper was a 97. There was no grade of 97 listed on any assignments by my daughter's name on the computer page. I explained that to her in my reply letter, but Mrs. E. did not respond.

I then sent an email about the situation to the principal who, unfortunately for me, is also her husband. He replied that he would speak to the teacher about it and get back to me. A few days later I received his reply, explaining that the teacher's grades were all up to date. He suggested that I check the names of the assignments carefully and pay no attention to the number grade. He said that number grades are sometimes based on percentages and were calculated differently into the computer. I found his explanation a little confusing, but I checked all the assignments my daughter had saved in her folder. I compared them to the grades in the computer, and the numbers on the papers matched the numbers on the computer exactly except for the two assignments that had not been entered.

I made one last effort to resolve the situation by addressing the school's assistant principal. She replied to my email promptly, explaining that she had no authority in academic concerns. She said that her responsibility was with disciplinary issues, and that all academic concerns must be addressed to the principal. Mr. E.

I am certain problems like this occur throughout public schools. They may not be earth-shattering, but they could mean a lot to a student. In my daughter's case the teacher's neglect could have been the difference between receiving an A or a B for that class. The frustration for me is in the knowledge that such problems are easily avoided. If a teacher's spouse becomes principal of the school where he or she works, the district needs to simply reassign that teacher to a different building. Mrs. E. could easily have been transferred to teach fifth grade, which is in a separate building in the same district.

I think all school districts should impose a policy forbidding a spouse to teach in the same building where the mate is an administrator. Such avoidable practices only lead to resentment and accusations of unfair treatment among the teaching staff. The problem also leads to feelings of unfair treatment among students and their parents.