Dear Buckley Parent: Recently our 7th grade sons were suspended from school for rough housing in the locker room. Although there was no malice between the boys or anger spurring their behavior, the school still felt suspension was the necessary course of action. As parents of these boys, we feel a warning would have been a more appropriate course of action yet, we were willing to honor the school’s decision until we fully understood the impact such a decision would have on our son's grades. According to the Parent/Student handbook, under the section titled, "Grounds for Suspension”: "Suspended students will be responsible for all homework assigned during their absence and for all notes and other subject matter given out in class. Work due on the date of suspension may not be turned in for credit upon the student's return, and the suspended student will receive an 'F'/59% on all assignments, quizzes, tests, or projects schedule during the term of their suspension." So, in addition to the emotional and social impact the suspension had on our sons AND after studying for hours with private tutors, they were forbidden to take their exams. The end result; their grade point averages dropped considerably. Clearly, the punishment does not fit the crime. We are contacting you and requesting your signature on this petition in order to eventually create a new policy but for now overturn a current policy that places our children's education second to the implementation of disciplinarian actions. Please know we are firm believers in discipline and "appropriate" consequences for inappropriate behavior. However, we also believe our schools primary job is to educate our children NOT to punish them to the extent that their grades suffer. We believe one of the many benefits of having our children in private school is our power, as a community, to choose what works and what does not work for us. Having choices allows us to use our voices and create conditions and policies that work for us, not against us as the current "Grounds For Suspension" clearly does. By signing this petition you will be instrumental in putting an end to a school policy that permits disciplinarian actions to halt and take priority over our children’s education. For those of you who are willing to accept our request, we thank you for your partnership. For those of you who you are not willing to accept our request, we thank you for your consideration. Warm Regards, Troy Byer Bailey Mark Burg Rebecca and Sam Shakib