Petition Against Proposed Derry Township School Board Policy No. 824 Until Changes Are Made

I wouldn't have made it through high school without being able to come to a handful of teachers and form a relationship with them. This is a huge lack of foresight and potentially alienating to the students who may not have positive relationships elsewhere and are in need of a mentor.

I am 57 years old and still have great relationships with some of my teachers as far back as 6th grade. As a matter of fact my 6th grade teachers help change my life because I new they really cared about me and still do.

As an alumni of DTSD, I can vouch that personal relationships with my teachers had a positive impact on my, and my peers' growth and development as students and people throughout our years at Hershey Elementary, Middle & High Schools. The student to counselor ratio does not provide opportunity for the kind of 1:1 relationship building that some students need, and currently seek out with their teachers. It was with those teachers, whom I saw each and every day, that I felt comfortable enough to talk about life outside of the curriculum covered in their classes. They helped guide me to make decisions that positively impacted my academic and social pursuits. Derry Township educators are skilled beyond teaching subject matter and should be direct partners to their students, in all facets of the education and personal growth.

No way!!! This is a terrible thing to even suggest doing to our children. They need to be able to develop healthy relationships with their teachers!

So ridiculous .. Personal connection (with healthy boundaries of course) is something that helps us GROW as HUMANS!!

Class of 1978, I agree this is too much.

I am a 1981 graduate of HHS. I currently live in Lititz, PA, where they recently enacted a similar policy. It has been very detrimental to the students here as well as the staff. This is a very poor policy choice for the Derry Township SD.

I am a resident of Derry Township.

I second Katie's statement. Forming more meaningful relationships with some of my high school teachers who acted as role models and supporters made a huge impact in my educational and personal growth.

Four generations of my family have attended/graduated and enjoying one of the best school districts in PA, Hershey School District. This idea of separation of the teachers and students is ludicrous!

Thank you for bringing attention to this problem. I had no clue this had even arisen until I had seen an Instagram post a few days back. It is really awesome to se students standing up to an unwanted change, and making sure the school is safe and a good environment to students.

Professor of Art Education and Crafts Kutztown University

Personal connections with teachers helped me get through the awful time I had at Derry Township

Students should be able to talk with and trust teachers.

With the ability to talk about our lives with teachers we are able to make strong relationships that enable us to find a comfortable place through school. We are forced to sit in a classroom for 7 hours a day and now we aren't even allowed to have a friendly conversation with our teacher that we also see every single day. I find it completely ridiculous.

My time at Derry Township School District would be wholly useless without the personal connections I made with teachers. We should not be coddling students and protecting them to the point where they aren't allowed to speak to their teachers. Nor should teachers be forced to lose their personality entirely.

This rule will take away the cummunitie on our school and will make that students more drawn back in class wich in return will affect their grades negatively.

my son attended hershey schools in a multiple disability class rooms and all the interacting with his teaches had him come a long way

Hershey makes a lot of good decisions but this for sure is not one of them

A close relationship with a teacher helped me pursue the career that I now love. I get the concern but not at the expense of letting teachers and coaches do one of their most important jobs.