AJC.com > Blogs > Get Schooled > Archives > 2008 > October > 28
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
How much help can schools give?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A Smyrna woman took her 12-year-old son to Nebraska and left him there because of the state’s safe haven law that allows parents to abandon their children without getting into trouble.
The boy’s mother, Tysheema Brown, said she was desperate after schools, courts and social service agencies failed to help the troubled boy.
This story leaves me wondering how much can schools do to help kids. Schools have resources, but they can’t replace a parent.
Cobb school officials said they tried to get the boy counseling but his mother refused. The district said they placed the boy in a special program to curb bad behavior.
Was there more the school should have done? Where’s the line that divides parents’ responsibilities and schools’ responsibilities?
