Please mind your manners.
The Howard County School Board wants school employees, parents and community members to be more courteous and respectful toward one another.
So much so that it asked administrators to develop a civility policy on ways to deal with inappropriate behavior and disagreements among its stakeholders.
“In society, in general, we?re seeing a lot more uncivil behavior,” said Susan Mascaro, director of staff relations and operations for the school system.
She said the policy, which the superintendent and other administrators must review before it?s released to the public, will list acceptable and unacceptable behaviors and promote problem-solving skills such as mediation.
It will also point out avenues for resolving conflicts via the school system?s ombudsman, who operates as an impartial person to solve issues, and the equity assurance office, which investigates harassment complaints.
During a recent school board meeting, Ann DeLacy, president of the Howard County Education Association, revealed that 44 percent of school system employees say they?ve been harassed or witnessed harassment by co-workers, parents or administrators. The association represents teachers, instructional assistants, nurses, cafeteria workers, secretaries, among others.
She said that based on written responses on the survey, many respondents complained about “cursing by parents in the form of e-mails.” She has not released the survey to the media.
School Board Member Courtney Watson said she hopes the policy will curtail such behavior.
“We can?t allow for that number to be that high,” she said.
Frank Aquino, a school board candidate and long-time school volunteer, developed the idea for the civility policy.
“I?m a consensus builder, and we have to set a positive example,” he said. “That in-your-face type of behavior doesn?t have a place within the school system. I think it?s appropriate to set forth a statement that we are going to conduct ourselves in a civil manner.”
School Civility policy
Howard County school officials are developing a civility policy to address inappropriate behavior within the school system. A draft of the policy will be presented to the School Board on June 20. A public hearing is slated for July 13, followed by board adoption scheduled for July 27.
