Wonderful world of bureacracy ... or, what I'd like to say to school administrators

To Whom It May Concern:

In following the rules of registering my children for school in your district, I took in my Texas drivers license and — in lieu of a utility bill — a service agreement with the water company, an agreement that shows our name, address and account number.

All of these items were given to the woman in the attendance office at Goodson Middle School, who told me that the service agreement did not meet the requirements. Perplexed, I decided to go home and call the district office, just so I could better understand the criteria. The woman in Dave Schrandt’s office told me that this should be adequate; she said she would call Goodson to clarify.

I took the document back over to Goodson. I explained to the woman in the attendance office that I had spoken with Mr. Schrandt’s office, and asked if this was OK. She said — very curtly, I might add — that no, this was not sufficient. “I’ll take it, because you said you called. But it won’t work.” I was confused at this point — why not?

Because, she said, it won’t. “But I’ll take it. You had to go and call over to the office. But the woman you spoke to has about 18 months in that office and I have 15 years, so I know that this is not sufficient.”

By this time I was thoroughly confused. And the more I asked, the briefer she got with me. This isn’t personal, I said. I just don’t understand.

She told me she was busy. Aren’t you helping me, I asked?

And then she said, “No. Because you came in here with a chip on your shoulder. Nothing I say is going to make you happy.”

I was speechless. And I’d like to clarify a few things.

My family is new to Cypress Fairbanks ISD, new to Texas. My children are in the middle of a mid-year transition, one that has taken its toll on them; unfortunately for them, their father’s job has required this. We are trying to make the best of it.

We chose CFISD thinking it would be a good place to rear our children and where they would have access to excellent educational facilities. It is very different than any school in which we’ve registered before, and it’s been a challenge. Other school districts require much less paperwork, much less documentation. Please understand that we are simply trying to make sense of a system we don’t quite comprehend. I am still struggling to understand why buying a house,
licensing my cars, getting a drivers license, having checks printed, and having a phone number do not prove residency.

I know that you get new students all the time, and to you we are just another new name, another number. But you must understand that we are not just “another name.” We are a family, and we want what’s best for our children. They should be welcome and valued in their school, and here I have been made to feel that, frankly, they are just a burden to the lower-level administrators who have to process yet another batch of paperwork.

At some point in my dealings with the woman at Goodson, all she had to do was politely explain to me why the rules are as they are. That’s all I ask — just an explanation delivered with courtesy. Instead I was treated with hostility as if I were challenging her. I really just wanted to understand. I know she doesn’t make the rules; she is just following a set of directives given her by a superior. But perhaps she needs to know how to explain to parents why the rules are in place without resorting to being unkind and insulting.

Luckily, this has not been our experience in the classroom; at Sampson my girls have the privilege to be in classes with Mrs. Chumley, Mrs. Galloway, Mrs. Young and Mrs. Daues, all of whom have made great efforts to make sure my girls are up to speed and are feeling comfortable. At Goodson, counselor Rita Lane has expressed a genuine concern in my daughter’s fate.

Thank you to assistant principal Greg Gruss, who took the time to sit and talk to me and attempt to clarify why all the bureaucracy is in place. Thank you, too, to Dave Schrandt, who also made our transition into the schools as easy as possible, even when we lived in a hotel for two weeks. We had thought school would be a safe haven while our lives were in flux, and he made that possible when he allowed our girls to register.

But my day-to-day experience with some administrators — such as last Friday — has been less than satisfactory, serving only to further disconnect me from my children’s schools. These people are the face of the school district, and when they fail, they leave a negative impression with parents and students.

A child’s experience in school can make or break them. It provides the bulk of their childhood memories and lays the foundation that makes success later in life possible. In dealings with parents — and children — please keep this in mind. Please treat my children — all new children — as the treasures they are, not as yet another piece of paperwork. Please embrace them as the valuable individuals they are.

(I feel so much better now!)