Three Requests in One Week
Mr. Bennett teaches five sections of ninth-grade English. He also receives a $2,400 stipend as assistant coach of the boys' basketball team, where three of his players are current students. On Tuesday: (1) the booster club president emails asking him to change Jamal's 68 to a 70 so Jamal stays eligible for Friday's playoff game, adding that everyone does it for athletes; (2) in the staff lounge, a colleague describes in detail the accommodations listed in a student's IEP, including the student's diagnosis, while two other teachers laugh; (3) a student, Riley, leaves a journal entry describing self-harm and writes, "Please don't tell anyone, you're the only teacher I trust." The grading policy allows late work at 10% off per day, up to five days; Jamal's 68 includes three missing assignments.
1. How do you handle the grade-change request, and what do you say and do in writing?
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Decline, then redirect to the legitimate path.
- The 68 reflects evidence against a published policy (10% per day, five-day cap). Raising it to 70 because of a playoff game is a change made for a reason unrelated to learning - that is a grade that misrepresents achievement.
- Jamal has three missing assignments. The honest route to 70 is submitting them under the late-work policy. Do the arithmetic with him: three assignments at a 10% reduction may well supply the missing points, obtained legitimately.
Say and write: a short, unemotional reply stating that the grade stands unless work is submitted under policy, and that you do not discuss a student's grades with anyone who is not the student, a parent, or a guardian. Copy the administrator.
Protect the school and yourself: the coaching stipend plus the player-coach relationship creates an apparent conflict in both directions. Tell your administrator and the athletic director, in writing, that the request was made, and ask that all eligibility questions route through the AD. Accept nothing of value from boosters, and do not discuss Jamal with other players or parents - a rumor that his grade was "handled" is as damaging as an actual change.
2. What are your obligations regarding the lounge conversation about the IEP?
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This is not gossip; it is disclosure of education-record information about a named student, in front of witnesses.
- IEP contents, including a diagnosis, are education records. Lounge conversation is not a permissible disclosure.
- The laughter raises a second issue: a climate hostile to disability, which the school has an obligation to address.
In the moment: interrupt briefly and without a speech - "I don't think we should be talking about a student's IEP in here" - and change the subject. Do not escalate into a public argument in front of two other staff; that produces defensiveness and witnesses who close ranks.
After: speak with the colleague privately the same day. Then report the incident to your administrator or the designee who handles confidentiality, factually: what was said, who was present, when. If it is part of a pattern, or if the student is being treated differently as a result, it becomes a formal matter - a complaint process, and potentially a report of disability-based harassment.
Do not repeat the diagnosis yourself as you retell the story, and do not assume it is handled because you said something once.
3. How do you respond to Riley's journal entry, and what do you do in the next few hours?
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You cannot promise confidentiality, and safety is not negotiable.
Immediately, same day:
- If there is any indication of imminent risk, do not leave Riley alone; walk the student to the counselor or administrator rather than sending a note.
- Tell Riley plainly what you are doing and why: "I'm not going to keep this to myself, because I'm worried about you and there are people here who can help. I'm walking with you to Ms. X now." Do not promise secrecy you will break, and do not promise outcomes you do not control.
- Follow the district's self-harm protocol exactly, including who notifies the parent or guardian - that is a designated person's job and possibly not yours.
Document: the journal entry verbatim, the time, and everyone notified. Keep it confidential - not in a shared mailbox, not discussed in the lounge, not mentioned to other students.
Do not: assess risk yourself, counsel at length, or agree to "wait and see." If Riley asks why you told, the answer is that caring about a student sometimes means getting help that a teacher cannot provide alone.