Maintaining Confidentiality in the Merriam Community

All teachers, assistants and parents should:

• be aware of guidelines to be followed concerning ethical issues:
• maintain the dignity necessary to gain the respect of pupils and professionals.
• show high unconditional personal regard for each child.
• be sympathetic and courteous toward all students.
• be impartial in dealing with students, and strive to be fair when judging their actions.
• set a good example for students in every way, as you are a role model for the children.
• adhere to the same code of professional ethics to which teachers and specialists subscribe

Here are a few tips to help keep confidentiality from becoming a problem:

• Be careful with whom you share information.
• Please share information only with other school personnel who are directly involved with that student's education.
• Avoid using names if you are asked about your job.
• Suggest that questions about a student are best directed to the classroom teacher.
• Be careful not to distort, exaggerate, or confuse information.
• Never use information about a student as gossip, as a joke, or as entertainment at a party or dinner table.
• Focus comments on student strengths and be positive.
• No matter who asks you a question about a student, if you don't want to answer or are unsure whether you should answer, don't. You can do this gently and politely.
• Be direct and honest: "I'm sorry - I can't say."
• Develop a workable response to questions about student information. Write it down, practice it, and use it

(Taken and adapted from The Personnel Planner and Training Guide For The Paraprofessional by Wendy Dover.)

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