Despite what people believe, having a parent that works at LHS does not give you special privileges. From the perspective of myself and other LHS students, we broke down the advantages and disadvantages of having a parent as an LHS staff member. 

My mom has been a teacher at LHS for 20 years, and I have always known I wanted to be a LHS Patriot. Having my mom in the building is great because I always know my mom is there if I need anything. She is so familiar with LHS that she has encouraged me to get involved in activities and take certain classes. It is heartwarming to hear how much other students love having her as a teacher. Because everyone knows my mom, the expectations of how I perform in the classroom are higher than others. I know how easy it is for teachers to get in contact with her over little things that other students’ parents wouldn’t be contacted for. I’m definitely held to a different level being the daughter of an LHS teacher. I have to work really hard to earn the leadership positions that I have because my mom does not want people to think they are just given to me. 

Sadie Brown, the daughter of Danyelle Brown, one of our assistant principals, feels the same way I do. Brown finds it a special treat to run into her mom at school. However, it is not always fun for her when she sees her mom disciplining a student that has been misbehaving. 

“I think the hardest part for me is being told that I get special privileges,” said Brown. “I get it a lot, and it’s starting to get old.”

Brown definitely feels that she is not getting unfair advantages because her mom is an assistant principal. 

“People try to not give me things so my peers won’t assume I got them because of my mom,” said Brown. 

Mark Ernster’s daughter, Camdyn Ernster, is a senior at LHS. She also feels it is really nice to have a parent working at school because she has someone to go to right away if she needs something. 

“The most challenging thing is everyone thinking that you are ‘praised’ because you have a parent there,” said Ernster.

She does not necessarily feel that she gets special advantages, but she has been able to build stronger relationships with her teachers by having her dad in the building. 

While being a child of an LHS staff member has its advantages, there are many unforeseen disadvantages that come along with it. We are definitely not given favoritism over other students and are not provided with special privileges that non-staff member students do not have. These are misconceptions that no one should have.