Jamestown bans decorating student lockers

[Anonymous]

So, principal's message just arrived in my inbox.

Contains this doozy about "important Jamestown policies every parent needs to know."

"Parents cannot decorate children’s lockers even for their birthdays." (Boldface in the original)

This is out of left field and and a break from tradition at the school. It also appears to be in direct conflict with the APS Student handbook about freedom of expression. Anyone have any insight on what the hell this is about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, principal's message just arrived in my inbox.

Contains this doozy about "important Jamestown policies every parent needs to know."

"Parents cannot decorate children’s lockers even for their birthdays." (Boldface in the original)

This is out of left field and and a break from tradition at the school. It also appears to be in direct conflict with the APS Student handbook about freedom of expression. Anyone have any insight on what the hell this is about?

Fire code?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, principal's message just arrived in my inbox.

Contains this doozy about "important Jamestown policies every parent needs to know."

"Parents cannot decorate children’s lockers even for their birthdays." (Boldface in the original)

This is out of left field and and a break from tradition at the school. It also appears to be in direct conflict with the APS Student handbook about freedom of expression. Anyone have any insight on what the hell this is about?

Fire code?

Really? Putting up some wrapping paper on a locker and a sign that says happy birthday is a fire code violation? I don't think that's the answer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, principal's message just arrived in my inbox.

Contains this doozy about "important Jamestown policies every parent needs to know."

"Parents cannot decorate children’s lockers even for their birthdays." (Boldface in the original)

This is out of left field and and a break from tradition at the school. It also appears to be in direct conflict with the APS Student handbook about freedom of expression. Anyone have any insight on what the hell this is about?

Fire code?

Really? Putting up some wrapping paper on a locker and a sign that says happy birthday is a fire code violation? I don't think that's the answer.

I'm not in VA, so maybe your fire code is different, but I teach in DC and there are all these rules about how far something flammable can stick out from the walls, and how many inches they need to be from the ceiling.

If not that, then it could be a security issue with parents hanging out in the hallways? I've never heard of this tradition, I've heard of kids decorating other kids' lockers, but not parents, so I don't know whether it would be allowed at my school or not.

[Anonymous]

Maybe too many parents are coming in, and disrupting school by decorating. It doesn't say students can't decorate their friends lockers, just parents can't. Must be a reason parents are specified.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, principal's message just arrived in my inbox.

Contains this doozy about "important Jamestown policies every parent needs to know."

"Parents cannot decorate children’s lockers even for their birthdays." (Boldface in the original)

This is out of left field and and a break from tradition at the school. It also appears to be in direct conflict with the APS Student handbook about freedom of expression. Anyone have any insight on what the hell this is about?

Fire code?

Really? Putting up some wrapping paper on a locker and a sign that says happy birthday is a fire code violation? I don't think that's the answer.

I'm not in VA, so maybe your fire code is different, but I teach in DC and there are all these rules about how far something flammable can stick out from the walls, and how many inches they need to be from the ceiling.

If not that, then it could be a security issue with parents hanging out in the hallways? I've never heard of this tradition, I've heard of kids decorating other kids' lockers, but not parents, so I don't know whether it would be allowed at my school or not.

Weird. If it was a fire code thing you'd expect that such an explanation would be offered. This just seems arbitrary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe too many parents are coming in, and disrupting school by decorating. It doesn't say students can't decorate their friends lockers, just parents can't. Must be a reason parents are specified.

+1
Parents are doing this now??? When I was in school, kids did it for their friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe too many parents are coming in, and disrupting school by decorating. It doesn't say students can't decorate their friends lockers, just parents can't. Must be a reason parents are specified.

This. Enough with the "locker chandeliers" and broadcasting to the entire world that you are the most super duper parent of the most super duper kid. Decorate the kid's bedroom at home if that's something you like to do.

[Anonymous]

Jesus, have people got nothing better to do than go into school and decorate their kids lockers? Never mind banning the practice, I would have them locked up for being nuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe too many parents are coming in, and disrupting school by decorating. It doesn't say students can't decorate their friends lockers, just parents can't. Must be a reason parents are specified.

Perhaps, but again, you'd think an explanation for what appears to be an arbitrary policy change would be given.

I don't think too many first and second graders would decorate their lockers. I do think parents might want to do something like that on their birthday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jesus, have people got nothing better to do than go into school and decorate their kids lockers? Never mind banning the practice, I would have them locked up for being nuts.

You don't have much joy in your life, do you? So much anger and annoyance. Wow. Toxic. Are you ok? Do you need a referral to a good therapist? Because your response was really ... unnecessarily hostile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe too many parents are coming in, and disrupting school by decorating. It doesn't say students can't decorate their friends lockers, just parents can't. Must be a reason parents are specified.

This. Enough with the "locker chandeliers" and broadcasting to the entire world that you are the most super duper parent of the most super duper kid. Decorate the kid's bedroom at home if that's something you like to do.[/quote

Um, I don't think parents do this to show off. That's a really peculiar way of looking at this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe too many parents are coming in, and disrupting school by decorating. It doesn't say students can't decorate their friends lockers, just parents can't. Must be a reason parents are specified.

Perhaps, but again, you'd think an explanation for what appears to be an arbitrary policy change would be given.

I don't think too many first and second graders would decorate their lockers. I do think parents might want to do something like that on their birthday.

I'm the DC poster, it didn't occur to me you were talking about little kids. We don't have lockers in our school until middle school.

[Anonymous]

Parents were doing this? Parents?

Back away from your children, ladies.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't like this because invariably there will be children who never get their lockers decorated, and those children will feel left out. And for some of those children it won't really matter much (because their parents shower attention on them in other ways), but for a few it will matter because they never get that kind of attention, and this will be just one more way they see that they get the short end of the stick in life. Since there are absolutely no downsides to discontinuing this practice, why not stop it if it makes even just a few children feel bad?