Stapleton elementary schools will begin a program beginning in November that will “reward” parents for getting their kids to school on time. Essentially, parents who get their kids to school on time will receive a ribbon from an administrator as they are leaving the school’s campus. “We wanted to create some urgency on the parents’ side,” said Swigert Administrator Jodi Haugen. “Just an extra thing to encourage them to get their kids to class on time, and then to reward them. We are really looking forward to seeing the results of the program.” Haugen says the Stapleton schools are not necessarily having an issue with tardiness, but she believes parents should be rewarded for being responsible and getting their kids to school on time. “It really is a big accomplishment,” said Haugen. “People have so much going on these days, so making that extra effort to get the kids out the door is really special. Of course, maybe it will reduce tardiness as well”
The new program is getting mixed reactions from the community. “Here we go again rewarding mediocrity,” said Stapleton dad Adam Clark. “Now, my wife is typically the one that does the drop off, but still, do we really want to view getting your kids to school on time as an accomplishment? I think it is a bad precedent for parents and kids.” Jill Baird agrees. “I think we can do without a pat on the back on this one,” said Baird. “Literally millions of kids get dropped off at school on time every day across the country. If almost everyone can do it, I don’t think it is that big of a deal.” Dana Schmit believes the awards should be more conditional. “I see some of these moms with a baby, a first grader, and a kindergartner,” said Schmit. “They have to get all those kids out the door and to class. That is a big deal. If you have one kid, or your kids are in fourth grade or higher, well, no, it is not that hard to figure that out. So, I think the awards should be there, but you have to pre-register with your situation to get one.” Amy Williams would definitely appreciate the awards. “I have run all sorts of races, including marathons and triathlons,” said Williams. “But getting my kids to school is way harder than any of those events. So many factors involved. Lunches, outfits, teeth brushing, hair combing, random tantrums. It’s just a big feat to me when I get those kids dropped at the school.”
Haugen says the program is in a test phase, so if it is ineffective, or parents don’t appreciate it, it can be dropped. “Nothing is in stone here,” said Haugen. “This is just something we are trying out, and we will actively access the success.” Haugen encourages parents to post daily photos of themselves with their awards after dropping the kids off at school with the hashtag #Ididit. ]]>