Brackmeyer Interview

The Word recently interviewed Mr. Brackmeyer regarding the new policies for the 2010-2011 school year. Our first question was concerning hoodies. We asked Brackmeyer if he considered the students with financial issues when he made the rule that pull-over hoodies would not be permitted. His response was that he did think about students who may not be able to afford a new jacket or a hoodie. He came up with the rule last year, so it shouldn’t be very new to upperclassmen and only a minor concern for incoming freshman. He also said that if a student did not have financial resources to but a new jacket or a zip up hoodie that the school would provide or help pay for a new one.

The next question we asked was if there were any rules that he didn’t agree with in the district. He responded by saying that he did agree with them, and continues into further detail about how rules are made in our school and our district. He stated that they take very good care in researching why they want to make any rule that is proposed and how it will affect students both positively and negatively. The high school also collaborates with the school district to make sure that the rules they make are in line with the district policies.

The third question concerned the P.A.R room, otherwise known as the Personal Accountability Room. We felt we needed to know if the P.A.R room served a purpose to him and also know why its there. He responded by saying the P.A.R. room was for students who did not follow dress code and had excessive tardies. The P.A.R room is an intervention in our school that is used to send students a message of self discipline.

The fourth question was in regards to freshman capture. “Why did you make Freshman Capture?” His reply had to do with research they found, stating that it is more likely that students who do poorly their freshman year will end up failing their upcoming years and possibly drop out. Freshman Capture is for freshman teachers to catch the student up in classes, and to help them with study skills to make it easier for them to be able to study and take notes.

The third question from the last was “Do you consult the teachers before you make rules that affect them?” His answer was that they have a ‘Leadership Meeting’ every week. All the Department Heads go to the meeting (i.e. The English Department Head, Head Counselors etc.) and they decide based on the Leaderships’ input. Once the meeting is over, all the teachers in that department are given information, and if they have concerns, they consult the Department Head. Then at the next ‘Leadership Meeting’, they bring the information to the Principal and they discuss the rules and policies and come to a compromise.

The next question was “How was your high school and is Manor High anything like it?” He told us that his high school years were some of the best years of his life and that the rules were definitely different; he said it was a great experience for him. He also said that Manor wasn’t really how his school was but that there were a few similarities such as having dress code, fights, and people that skipped school.

The last question we had for him was “Why do we have advisory that’s fifteen minutes for the upperclassmen?” His answer was that it was basically a shortened version of Freshman Capture and that it was for upperclassmen to get their grades, makeup work, and to receive information about their graduation requirements.

What we learned from this interview is that the school doesn’t make rules just for fun, and the principal actually thinks things through and attempt to listen to the student body. We also learned that the P.A.R is to help students to realize to not make the same mistake over and over again, and advisory is for students to get caught up in their responsibilities. Through this interview, we tried to understand why Brackmeyer does the things he does for us and understand that he is a person just like us. He considers things that can help us and listens to the student body. He has a lot of things to think about and he is only doing what he thinks is best for everyone.

Haley Malone and Charelle Marshall