Dive Brief:

• While most schools report that "most of our parents are fine," Independent School Magazine reports that at every school they've visited, they've found increasing issues with parents bullying the school.
• Parent-on-school bullying includes habitual violations of policies, values and conduct norms like personal attacks or threats to teachers and administrators.
• The magazine categorizes parent bullies as "Righteous Crusaders," who attack schools for perceived moral problems; "Entitled Intimidators," who demand their child receive special treatment; and "Vicious Gossips," who broadcast complaints about perceived faults in schools or educators to a recruited group of "vigilantes."

Dive Insight:

According to Independent School Magazine, the parent-on-school bullying stems at least in part from anxiety about social, economic and technological changes occurring faster than parents are able to deal with as far as the opportunities available for their children to lead successful and productive lives.

The biggest problem, of course, is that such behavior by parents can become disruptive to schools, shortchanging all students. It's not a one-sided issue: Schools and districts must be transparent and keep parents informed, giving them every reason to believe their children are in good hands with people who have dedicated their lives to ensuring their success. But dealing with bullies in particular requires greater effort by administrators in particular, as they represent the school as a whole and are better equipped to deal with what Independent School Magazine identifies as the outward blaming and lack of self-observation that these parents present.

Recommended Reading

Independent School Magazine: Parents Who Bully the School