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Girl, 9, barred from school for shaving head to support friend with cancer

MaggieD

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A 9-year-old Colorado girl was kept out of school on Monday after shaving her head to support a friend battling cancer.

KDVR.com reports that officials at Caprock Academy in Grand Junction told the student, Kamryn, she couldn't come back to class without a wig or until her natural hair grew back because her shaved head violates the school's dress code.

With her parents' approval, Kamryn shaved her head in support of her friend, 11-year-old Delaney, who is battling neuroblastoma, a childhood cancer, and recently started chemotherapy.

Girl, 9, barred from school for shaving head to support friend with cancer | Fox News

It's times like these I wish parents would/could take a stand. And I wish 15 other classmates would shave their heads. The stand I wish the little girl's parents would let her take would be to NOT attend school until the rule is changed. How simple would it be to amend the rule to allow shaved heads when one student in the school has lost his/hers due to cancer??

Easy-Peasy.

I am positively SICK of these academicians who don't have brain cells.
 
It is a charter school. If you do not like their policies, don't send your kids there.
 
I am so glad that my kid is grown. Today's schools with all of the strict policies, like ", said the dress code "was created to promote safety, uniformity, and a non-distracting environment for the school's students. Under this policy, shaved heads are not permitted." (OP link). Is just stupid. There have been reports in the past where the classmates shaved heads in support of one who is sick.

I agree that parents need to rally and force the school to get real.
 
Every kid in that school should shave their head right now. See what the administration does.
 
Girl, 9, barred from school for shaving head to support friend with cancer | Fox News

It's times like these I wish parents would/could take a stand. And I wish 15 other classmates would shave their heads. The stand I wish the little girl's parents would let her take would be to NOT attend school until the rule is changed. How simple would it be to amend the rule to allow shaved heads when one student in the school has lost his/hers due to cancer??

Easy-Peasy.

I am positively SICK of these academicians who don't have brain cells.

She could've asked permission from the school. This isn't public school; there are distinct rules.
 
Girl, 9, barred from school for shaving head to support friend with cancer | Fox News

It's times like these I wish parents would/could take a stand. And I wish 15 other classmates would shave their heads. The stand I wish the little girl's parents would let her take would be to NOT attend school until the rule is changed. How simple would it be to amend the rule to allow shaved heads when one student in the school has lost his/hers due to cancer??

Easy-Peasy.

I am positively SICK of these academicians who don't have brain cells.

What a good friend. I agree, wishing all the kids would shave their head in support of the girl and protest the school.
 
I am so glad that my kid is grown. Today's schools with all of the strict policies, like ", said the dress code "was created to promote safety, uniformity, and a non-distracting environment for the school's students. Under this policy, shaved heads are not permitted." (OP link). Is just stupid. There have been reports in the past where the classmates shaved heads in support of one who is sick.

I agree that parents need to rally and force the school to get real.

Do you know that many of the best education systems in the world have not just dress codes, but school uniforms as well. Part of what charter schools ate supposed to do is provide alternatives to the standard US public schools.
 
What a good friend. I agree, wishing all the kids would shave their head in support of the girl and protest the school.

You'll end up pissing parents off. They pay good money for their children's conformity.
 
seems an arbitrary rule
atrociously so if it causes a child to forfeit a part of her education
kudos for the kid to be willing to shave her head in support of her friend. she should be celebrated by the community instead of made a pariah by the school

the parents should have kept quiet and sued - for large money - that their daughter was denied an education because her head was shaved for medical reasons: to get rid of lice
 
seems an arbitrary rule
atrociously so if it causes a child to forfeit a part of her education
kudos for the kid to be willing to shave her head in support of her friend. she should be celebrated by the community instead of made a pariah by the school

the parents should have kept quiet and sued - for large money - that their daughter was denied an education because her head was shaved for medical reasons: to get rid of lice

You can't sue over a child's suspension for rule-breaking. Were that so, the ghettos would be packed with millionaires.
 
You can't sue over a child's suspension for rule-breaking. Were that so, the ghettos would be packed with millionaires.

so, a kid's head cannot be shaved to eliminate the presence of head lice? interesting surmise. wrong too
 
so, a kid's head cannot be shaved to eliminate the presence of head lice? interesting surmise. wrong too

They already publicly stated that it was for cancer support. Now had she kept her mouth shut, she could argue that. She'd probably still lose, but she could argue it.

Lice don't know there's an honor code.
 
Stupid administration is stupid. Absolutely no reason to punish a kid for an act of charity towards someone in need - especially one that will not disrupt the educational experience she or her classmates recieve. I think there are times when school administrators forget exactly what they are there to do: promote the educational experience of the children and promote them becoming decent people. Any monkey can mindlessly enforce policies and procedures. Whoever is in charge of making this decision to come down hard on the girl is in my opinion being paid more than they are worth and should apologize to the girl and then either take a salary cut or be terminated.
 
Look at this statement.......
the dress code "was created to promote safety, uniformity, and a non-distracting environment for the school's students. Under this policy, shaved heads are not permitted."

Explain a safety hazard resulting from a shaved head: "uniformity", in this application isn't that another way of say they discourage students from thinking as individuals?
A "non-distracting environment", now I am going to guess those kids and I means 100 % of the student body have seen thousands of shaved heads.
I think this young lady, Kamryn has learned that there are many stupid things and people that she will cross paths with in her life and this has been one of them. Last, if I knew the name of the school was Cap Rock I would have not applied.
 
Do you know that many of the best education systems in the world have not just dress codes, but school uniforms as well. Part of what charter schools ate supposed to do is provide alternatives to the standard US public schools.

Yes. I am aware of that.

One could make the case the school doesn't care about the sick child who the friend is supporting. Charter school or not. The school missed a learning opportunity. Instead, lets just suspend the kid who is trying to support her friend.
 
Look at this statement.......
the dress code "was created to promote safety, uniformity, and a non-distracting environment for the school's students. Under this policy, shaved heads are not permitted."

Explain a safety hazard resulting from a shaved head: "uniformity", in this application isn't that another way of say they discourage students from thinking as individuals?
A "non-distracting environment", now I am going to guess those kids and I means 100 % of the student body have seen thousands of shaved heads.
I think this young lady, Kamryn has learned that there are many stupid things and people that she will cross paths with in her life and this has been one of them. Last, if I knew the name of the school was Cap Rock I would have not applied.

Why is this hard? If you don't like the rules, do not send your kid to the school.
 
seems an arbitrary rule
atrociously so if it causes a child to forfeit a part of her education
kudos for the kid to be willing to shave her head in support of her friend. she should be celebrated by the community instead of made a pariah by the school

the parents should have kept quiet and sued - for large money - that their daughter was denied an education because her head was shaved for medical reasons: to get rid of lice

I do agree with most of what you are saying. I would be proud of my daughter for this. But I doubt that she could sue. In order to take it to court she would need a legitimate medical reason supported by a doctor.

When you enroll you child in a charter or any private school you are agreeing to abide by their rules. As a parent you have to know what those are before committing there. I understand the girls intent was noble, and I would like to see the school support her, however, it is the schools choice. The parents can switch schools, they can try to convince other parents to switch schools. But thats about all they can do.
 
School handbook can be found here: http://www.caprockacademy.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/2012-2013-Family-Handbook-final-draft1.pdf

Page 33: no shaved heads. Pretty clear cut(get it?). I think it is time people atop being outraged all the time. School is public, but not one kids are required to attend. School has a special ruleset. Student ignores rules. Student is punished. People spaz out that a school enforces its rules.

Clearly everyone on DP is clicking the link because it wasn't responding for me. I'm generally one to agree with this sentiment, but I wasn't able to see if there was an appeals procedure or whether there are avenues of exception (doctor's note, etc.). I can certainly understand if they were trying to avoid having distracting hair styles, but to have no hair due to shaving seems to be outside that sentiment.
 
Yes. I am aware of that.

One could make the case the school doesn't care about the sick child who the friend is supporting. Charter school or not. The school missed a learning opportunity. Instead, lets just suspend the kid who is trying to support her friend.

I certainly hope they do not care about the sick child. It is not their responsibility. Their responsibility is to their students and parents who enrolled their children in a school expecting certain standards that the school advertised. That includes a strict dress code.
 
Why is this hard? If you don't like the rules, do not send your kid to the school.

Or force the school to change. Yes one could take the child out of the school and find another.

So can we apply your logic of no tolerance to the rules to all laws or rules?
 
I'd be interested in hearing the school's mission statement and then holding the administration accountable if their actions against this girl are dischordant with their stated mission. Policies and procedures are only valuable or useful when they support the stated goal of the institution they are upholding. On the occasions that policies become detrimental to the accomplishment of the stated goal of the school, that is when a good administration recognizes the discrepency and allows the goal of the institution to supercede the policies on the books.
 
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I certainly hope they do not care about the sick child. It is not their responsibility. Their responsibility is to their students and parents who enrolled their children in a school expecting certain standards that the school advertised. That includes a strict dress code.

It is noted you did not reply to being asked then should no tolerance be applied to all rules and laws. Why is that?

One could conclude that if a student dies, the school teachers and administrators have no role to play in such an event. Like I stated, the school missed an opportunity of a life lesson.
 
Clearly everyone on DP is clicking the link because it wasn't responding for me. I'm generally one to agree with this sentiment, but I wasn't able to see if there was an appeals procedure or whether there are avenues of exception (doctor's note, etc.). I can certainly understand if they were trying to avoid having distracting hair styles, but to have no hair due to shaving seems to be outside that sentiment.

It took me several tries to get through to website. It is being pounded. She did not shave her head for medical treatment, nor apparently did she talk to the school in advance.
 
Or force the school to change. Yes one could take the child out of the school and find another.

So can we apply your logic of no tolerance to the rules to all laws or rules?

Good luck with forcing the school to change. Parents are sending their kids to this school for a reason.
 
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