The chancellor’s directive took the decision out of the school’s hands.
According to the directive, the school could make no exceptions to the
regulation. A student and parent could appeal to the superintendent and
then the chancellor.
As soon as this regulation was issued, Mr. Thelen included it in his
parent newsletter and continued to include it in the three subsequent mail-
ings. He mentioned it at every Parent Association meeting and added it
to parent handouts. Then he personally visited every senior English class
and gave a one-period lesson on graduation requirements and the chancel-
lor’s regulation. Each student was given two copies of the outline of this
lesson, which included the exact wording of the chancellor’s regulation.
Students brought one copy home to show their parents. On the other they
signed this statement:
I verify that the principal came to speak to my class today to explain the
graduation requirements and the chancellor’s regulation on participation in
the June graduation ceremony. I further verify that I will show a copy of
this handout to my parent.This signed version was returned to the principal. Spare copies were
left with the teachers so they could obtain signed copies from absentees.
In June, several angry parents lined up outside Mr. Thelen’s office. In
general, the issue was the same: The whole family was traveling to the
city to see their child graduate—“I know my child didn’t earn a diploma,
but why can’t he take part in the ceremony?” The principal had his docu-
mentation ready. The one document that ended the issue was the verifica-
tion paper signed by the student. At that point, anger was deflected from
this principal to the student. Some parents did go to the superintendent
and even the chancellor. To their credit, both administrators backed their
own policy completely once they verified that the principal had documen-
tation proving the parents had been informed.
The next year, Mr. Thelen added a new topic to his talk to the seniors:
being truthful with one’s parents about one’s prospects for graduation.
There were two cases in which Mr. Thelen personally appealed to
the superintendent for a variance. In both cases, severe illnesses were
involved, either of the student or the student’s parent. These were docu-
mented. In both cases, the student was allowed to march.
Don’t Exacerbate; Defuse 17