Policies in-depth

While trying to schedule interviews with the administrators, there were several conflicts, such as an unplanned Zoom meeting and constant meetings with staff, students, and parents. Their busy schedules make their jobs packed and stressful, with a continuous goal of pleasing as many people as possible. That goal is challenging to accomplish since Carlmont has over 2,000 students and makes decisions difficult.

In regards to the dress code, Grant Steunenberg, the AVP for 10th and 12th graders at Carlmont High School, said, “That’s where our job becomes very challenging and difficult is that we become the judge and jury of what is appropriate and what’s inappropriate. There are always students who disagree with our judgment of what is appropriate or inappropriate. That’s a very challenging part of our job because we oftentimes make people upset with us in regards to how we deem things to be appropriate or inappropriate, but at the end of the day, [the] Education Code supports us in being able to make those judgments.”

The controversy regarding the dress code is amongst many that the administration deals with annually. Part of their job includes fielding teacher and administration issues and decisions, but it depends on which administrator handles the situation.

“If it’s about a parent who is upset with a coach, and they want the coach fired, and what kind of a decision are we going to make about how we address the coach, I’m going to collaborate with my administrative team as well as my athletic director,” Stuenenberg said.

Collaborating remains an essential part of their jobs, as they created the policies and rules enforced every day on campus, which sometimes leaves questions of why. The tracing of these questions can be back to the primary purpose of the administration; student safety and a healthy environment.

Crame went into detail about the reason behind everything the administration does.
He said, “We have a set of rules that we have to follow, right. There’s law, there’s ed code, and then there’s safety that we have to keep in mind. Some of the policies we have in place are there for the safety of students, not just physical safety, but emotional safety of students as well. If there’s ever a question about any of our policies, if there’s any question about how we operate, we welcome that conversation from students because it affects you the most.”

He also explained the possible results of conversations between students and staff, which he encourages.

“Whatever people have perceived about how we operate, we want to make sure they understand it is an open dialogue and if they need more information about something that we have an open-door policy, [and they can] come talk to us,” Crame said. “I can’t guarantee you that there’s going to be a change, but I can say we’ll have a discussion and hopefully a better understanding of why a policy is in place.”

The administration’s open-door policy and willingness to collaborate with individuals work towards their eventual goal of what is best for students and how its achievement is possible.