Growing up and going to high school is hard but is just as hard when your parent is also a staff member.
Throughout the years, many staff members have had their children enrolled in James Caldwell High School along with their athletic programs.
I have interviewed eight different staff members who each had children in the school while they also worked or taught.
The first staff member is Mrs. Flanagan, who works in the Guidance Department. Her son, Ian, graduated from JCHS in 2023, and her daughter Ella is currently a sophomore. Ms. Flanagan stated that there are no troubles that she finds in attending the same school her daughter is attending. She comes to work, and they go their separate ways to accomplish the jobs they are both there to do. When there are any school related issues, she handles it the same way any other parent would.
A piece of advice that Ms. Flanagan has for teachers who will have their children attend JCHS in the future is that it does not work for everyone and complications could be introduced when it comes to class hardships or disciplinary actions.
The second staff member is Mrs. Stafford, who is the JCHS librarian. She had three children in the school while working here; Her son Andrew graduated in 2018, her other son Ethan graduated in 2020, and her daughter Addy graduated in 2024. Mrs. Stafford said it was hard to maintain boundaries at some points when her child would try to use her to get away with things. However, she said it was easy to just be a teacher and let them do their own things, and she really never had to intervene with anything.
A piece of advice that Mrs. Stafford has given for teachers who will have their children attend JCHS in the future, is that they should try and let the child take the lead on how they want their relationship to be in school and to give space when it is needed.
The third staff member is Mr. Romano who is currently the athletic director. However, when his children attended he was just the Football Coach. His son Danny graduated in 2000, his daughter Valerie graduated in 2002, his daughter Stephanie graduated in 2006, and his daughter Lisa graduated in 2008. A challenge that he experienced was on the field when he would be too hard on his son or vice versa. In regards to school related issues like drama or bullying, he would step back and not get involved and let them figure it out on their own.
A piece of advice that Mr. Romano has for future teachers is just to have their children attend JCHS because it is a great school, and he encourages people to have their children attend.
The fourth staff member is Mr. Harper, who is a business teacher, and his son Kaelen is a junior. Mr. Harper talked about that they have some minor boundary issues where he wants his son to be more involved and less reliant.
The Harpers come from out of town and he chose to have Kaelen come to school at JCHS as his other school district was not as academically beneficial. In regards to balancing his professional and parental responsibilities he tries to be impartial and not give anything extra. He encourages Kaelen to treat any issues that may arise like he would if his dad was not there.
A piece of advice Mr. Harper has for teachers who may have their children attend in the future is to enjoy the opportunity to spend time with your child, but to also allow them to sink or swim on their own.
The fifth staff member is Señora Coogan, who is a Spanish language teacher, and she had two sons attend JCHS. Her oldest son, Owen, graduated in 2021, and her youngest son, Finn, graduated in 2023.
Señora Coogan did not see any complications in regards to boundaries, and she had taught both her sons in Spanish 4. She said she would give her kids a lot of responsibility in keeping up with their work and talk to them one on one when presented with problems.
A piece of advice she has for teachers who will have their children attend JCHS in the future is to keep things separate from one another and only be a teacher in school, and only be a mom outside of school.
The sixth staff member is Ms. Pennington, who is a secretary in the main office, and she had three of her children attend JCHS. Her son Cole graduated in 2005, her oldest daughter Mae graduated in 2009, and her youngest daughter Sadie graduated in 2014.
Ms. Pennington was not presented with any complications while her children attended the school that she works at; she would make sure that she came and did her job and respected the boundaries that the kids requested.
Ms. Pennington would try her best not to get involved when it came to school related issues and she would allow her children to figure it out themselves. A piece of advice that she has for future teachers who will have their children attend JCHS is to respect boundaries and have a conversation about what they want it to look like, so everything can be smooth and problem free.
The seventh staff member is Ms. Lucia-Hayden, who is also a secretary in the main office, and she had two children attend JCHS. Her daughter Briana graduated in 2012, and her son Justin graduated in 2019.
Ms. Lucia-Hayden did not have any boundary problems as her children saw her work ethic and how much she did, which caused them to have a lot more respect for her. In regards to drama or disciplinary actions, she would always hear the full story from different perspectives and never assume that her child was entirely innocent.
A piece of advice that Ms. Lucia-Hayden has for any teachers that will have their children attend JCHS in the future is to let them be on their own and do not badger and bombard them.
Last but not least, Mrs. Caracappa, who works in the guidance department had three children attend JCHS. Her oldest daughter, Madeline, graduated in 2015, her son Tom graduated in 2017, and her youngest daughter, Nicole, graduated in 2019.
Mrs. Caracappa said the only boundary issue they had was when she worked as the library secretary and her daughter would hangout there with her friends. However, she never interfered with their social or academic lives, and she allowed them to tough it out themselves.
In regards to balancing her professional and parent responsibilities while in school, she would be there for her kids if needed, however she would allow them to advocate for themselves when having trouble with a class or any other issues.
A piece of advice that Mrs. Caracappa has for teachers who will have their children attend JCHS in the future is to respect boundaries and only do what your child is comfortable with you doing.
