The Difficult Parent by Jaksec Charles M. III;

Author:Jaksec, Charles M., III;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Corwin Press
Published: 2004-06-21T00:00:00+00:00

Front-Office Workers

Front-office workers find themselves in an advantageous position to assist their colleagues. They are usually the point of contact for people who arrive on campus angry or upset. As a result, front-office staff can inform coworkers of any behaviors that are perceived as threatening.

It is imperative that front-office workers are informed by school administrators (preferably prior to the start of the school year) that part of their job responsibility includes notifying the administrators or other designated school personnel if an aggressive parent arrives on campus. I also recommend that when front-office personnel observe the arrival of an aggressive parent, they should go immediately to the location of a designated staff member (e.g., a school resource officer or school administrator). Telephone communications should be avoided, because when face to face with the school resource officer or administrator, front-office personnel can inform that person of the parent’s arrival, his or her demeanor, or any other concerns that they may have. For example, the parent may be inebriated or concealing a weapon.

The option to notify designated personnel in a face-to-face manner greatly reduces the chances of the parent becoming further aggravated by hearing the office worker describe the parent’s behaviors or sharing concerns with his or her colleagues. This option also ensures that the officer or administrator will be well warned, prior to his or her actual contact with the parent. If the parent is deemed too volatile to meet with the requested staff member, typically the teacher, the administrator, or officer might wisely postpone or reschedule the meeting until further options or safeguards are secured and the teacher is afforded more protection.

Most front-office workers have a plenty of experience involving hostile or confrontational people. These personnel must, however, guard against gaining a false sense of security. Engaging a parent alone could unfortunately evolve into a dangerous situation.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.