Parent policy studied in Lenox

Lenox coaches such as head football coach Allen Dukes, left, may have a policy to follow soon in regard to interactions with parents. The Lenox School Board is studying adoption of a policy that would spell out appropriate procedures, and penalties for infractions. (LARRY PETERSON)

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LENOX — A policy may be adopted in Lenox Community Schools to address interactions between coaches and parents, with penalties to enforce violations.

In September, Lenox School Board President Kurtis Christensen opened a discussion on the topic, and the consensus was to have Athletic Director Steve Westphal contact other school districts for ideas.

That hasn’t generated many policies to model, but it may have sparked similar conversations in other communities.

“We e-mailed 10 schools and only got a couple of responses back,” Westphal said. “From Pleasantville we got a comment that ‘we don’t have a policy, but maybe we should.’ I don’t think a lot of the smaller schools have a set policy, other than maybe a chain of command.”

At Central Decatur, for example, parents are allowed to speak with coaches, but if it is an item of major concern, it’s advised to include the athletic director in the discussion.

Christensen said confrontations among parents and coaches have not been a big concern in Lenox, but isolated incidents have generated the policy discussion.

“Being a former coach myself and growing up around coaches with my dad (Tom) and my uncles, I started questioning what hap a coach?” Kurtis Christensen said. “What’s the policy? Who has the coach’s back, basically.”

Shortage

Christensen noted recent difficulties in keeping coaching positions filled. Last winter, there was no assistant varsity girls basketball coach.

“We’re struggling to get open coaching positions filled,” said Christensen, a former middle-school coach for football, wrestling and track. “It hasn’t been necessarily just one incident, but every so often something comes up. We thought maybe we should look at having a policy in place in case of the rare event something happens. Then you have something to stand on.”

One idea being explored is a “three strikes and you’re out” policy regarding violations of a parent-coach interaction policy. It could apply to other spectators, too.

“Maybe the first time there’s a warning, then the second time you can’t attend one game, and the third time you’re out for the season,” Christensen said. “If you don’t have a policy, a decision could be challenged. We need something where a coach can say, OK, this is your warning, and so on.”

Cooling off

A required grace period after a game before addressing concerns with a coach is a suggestion by Christensen.

“Give yourself 24 hours to think about it,” Christensen said. “Nine times out of 10, people would probably sit back and see that it’s not that bad.”

In Creston, for example, a meeting for all parents of students involved in school activities is held at the beginning of the school year in the high school auditorium, and coaches meet in smaller groups with parents for their sport. Jeff Bevins, Creston activities director, said those meetings are helpful in addressing issues such as communication with coaches.

“We go over what to expect, when it’s appropriate to talk to a coach, and that kind of thing,” Bevins said. “We have taken action (against fans), but it’s been very isolated and we don’t have something in writing.”

Westphal said having a meeting for parents before each season could be part of a Lenox policy. But a formal policy adoption would have required a first reading in October, and second reading in November, to be in place for the winter season.

“We talked about the possibility at the beginning of the winter sports season to bring in the parents involved, but we didn’t get it put together quick enough,” Westphal said.

“I would like to think by the end of this school year we will be able to have a policy in place for the next school year,” Christensen said.