Imagine walking into class, and the person standing at the front isn’t just your teacher—it’s your mom or dad. For a handful of students at River Dell High School, this is their everyday reality, where home and school collide.
While the thought of having a parent in the same building might seem awkward, for many, it creates a unique blend of support, familiarity, and yes, a little bit of embarrassment.
What do you call your parent when you see them at school? Is it Ms./Mr., or just the plain old mom and dad? Abby Bartelloni, who’s mom is the school’s Art teacher, went through a similar dilemma during her sophomore year. “I used to poke her because I didn’t want to say mom, and I didn’t want to say Ms. Bartelloni. So, I poked her in the back, and she thought it was some random kids.”
For some River Dell Families, the blending of parent and teacher roles is a balancing act. While it can seem uncomfortable at first, many students find there are clear benefits. For example, students in this unusual position can visit their parent in between classes for support or even just to say “hi”. Or they can take advantage of their parent’s office/classroom as space to store athletic gear.
Gianna Lauterhahn’s mom is the Constitutional Law and Civil Rights teacher. She shared, “Even if I just have something funny to tell, I can literally just run upstairs and go talk to her. Obviously not during the class, but if I have separate time.”
Bria Van Wettering, who’s mom is the school nurse, also appreciates having her close by. “It’s nice to be able to check in with her during the day when I need to,” Bria agreed.
While many students only get parental support outside of school hours, Bria can turn to her mom at any point. On the other hand, Abby has mixed feelings about the situation. She explained that it was nice that people knew her before she came to the high school and compared the feeling to having an older sibling. But at the same time, people already had an impression of her before she even had a chance to make one herself.
The real challenge comes when your parent is your actual teacher. Do they get treated differently? Are expectations higher? Abby Bartelloni and Gianna Lauterhahn both took classes taught by their moms and agreed that they felt pressure to do well in class and they were even graded harder to a certain extent. Abby’s dad even told her to she must get an “A” in her mom’s class, saying “You can’t fail in your own mom’s class.”
Gianna echoed similar thoughts. “Honestly, my mom helps everyone pretty fairly, but if anything, she’s a bit tougher on me because I’m her daughter.”
As for the perspective of the parents working at the same school as their kids, finding a balance between both roles can be tricky.
Ms. Van Wettering, the school nurse, reflected on her initial doubts about working in the same district as her children. “At first, I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to be at the same school, but I was completely wrong. I think they enjoy having me here, and we’ve managed to build a good relationship within the school environment.”
In terms of setting a good boundary between parental responsibility and work, Mr. Pepe and Ms. Van Wettering reiterated the same thoughts regarding keeping a distance during school hours when possible. Mr. Pepe explained that he chooses to not to run into his daughter on purpose and thinks it’s working out well so far.
Though it might seem unusual, these students and their parents are navigating this dual relationship with respect, understanding, with a few minor bumps along the way. At the end of the day, having a family member close by—offers comfort more than anything else.
