High school represents the stepping stone between childhood and adulthood. The necessary “middle ground” where many of us grow into our own and prepare to leave the nest. For most, high school is a seven hour reprieve from parents, but for some their parents have chosen to call RHS their workplace.

Faith Hardy, a senior, fondly recalls her four years at RHS with her father, Mr. Mark Hardy, who teaches AP Microeconomics and Psychology.

“It’s been really good. I think people expect to be kind of weird, or negative, but it’s not.”

The benefits include easy access to a microwave, on-call permission slip signer and parental support if she forgets something. As an underclassmen, Mr. Hardy’s classroom was a fun hangout, but now that she’s one of his many students, she regularly visits his room on blue days for class.

While the downsides are virtually non-existent, Faith recalls peers joking about her worthiness in winning awards as her dad teaches in the district.

“People thinking that I get treated specially because my dad’s a teacher. [They’re] joking, but [I’m] hoping that that’s not true. That that’s not why I succeed in areas,” she stated.

McKenna Crowe, also a senior, recalls her positive experience at RHS with her mother, Mrs. Colleen Crowe who teaches AP Government and Government/Economics. McKenna concurs with Faith – the pros far outweigh the cons. Yet, while going to high school with her mom has augmented her experience, McKenna attests the whole experience felt normal.

“It’s pretty must just like any other student, I just get to grab food from her classroom all the time,” she claims.

Similarly, Zach Cox, a senior, recounts his experience having his mother, Mrs. Karen Cox, a disciplinary technician, on campus. Although he doesn’t see her much on campus, he enjoys grabbing a snack from her office and the ease of getting permission slips signed by his mom.

Interestingly, as Mrs. Cox does dress code students (among taking other disciplinary measures), Zach recalls some funny encounters with begrudging peers.

“It’s just kind of funny, throughout the year, random people will come up to me and say ‘Your mom dress coded me!’ and I don’t really know what to say.”

On balance, Faith, McKenna and Zach all agree – having parents on campus definitely enriched their four years at RHS.