Should it be illegal to skip parent-teacher conferences? Proposal draws mixed reaction
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy believes parents need to be involved in the education process, and she thinks they should be punished if they aren't.
Worthy, pointing to a relationship between truancy and parental involvement, wants to make it illegalfor parents in Wayne County to miss scheduled parent-teacher conferences.
In a statement released yesterday, she clarified that under the ordinance she is developing parents would only be punished if they failed to attend at least one conference:
The Detroit Public Schools announced last week it will give away a total of $25,000 in Target gift cards to parents who provide up-to-date contact information for future communications. And State Sen. Hansen Clarke (D-Detroit) recently re-introduced legislation that would encourage struggling schools to offer privately-funded cash incentives to students who improve their grades.
Worthy has acknowledged her plan will be controversial, and early reaction has confirmed that expectation:
Worthy, pointing to a relationship between truancy and parental involvement, wants to make it illegalfor parents in Wayne County to miss scheduled parent-teacher conferences.
In a statement released yesterday, she clarified that under the ordinance she is developing parents would only be punished if they failed to attend at least one conference:
June 14, MyFoxDetroit: At this time we are in the exploratory phase of a creating a countywide ordinance that would make it a violation for any parent or guardian who fails to go to at least one parent-teacher conference during the school year. Some parents or guardians never set foot in a school. I would like to look at this as an incentive to encourage those responsible to take and active interest in their children's education. The thrust of my proposal is not to lock parents or guardian up; that would be done only as a last resort.While Worthy's idea hinges on coercion, she's not the first to propose incentives to boost parental involvement or student achievement in local schools.
I have seen that younger and younger children are committing more violent acts and we need to look at different approaches. I know we need to try something different. We should not have to legislate this, but what we have been doing is not working.
The Detroit Public Schools announced last week it will give away a total of $25,000 in Target gift cards to parents who provide up-to-date contact information for future communications. And State Sen. Hansen Clarke (D-Detroit) recently re-introduced legislation that would encourage struggling schools to offer privately-funded cash incentives to students who improve their grades.
Worthy has acknowledged her plan will be controversial, and early reaction has confirmed that expectation:
- Rick Naughton, superintendent of Huron Schools, told Michigan Radio that legal action is not the way to get parents involved. "I think there's probably more creative things we can do as a school district than going to that level. I just don't want to get into an adversarial relationship
