I recently interviewed a high school principal about issues that impact students today. Their insight and advice was solid as they gave practice advice for families that have gone through a divorce or who are going through a divorce in Jefferson County. The following is an excerpt of their perspective.
Divorce is hard but schools are here to support students through whatever stage of life they are in. Students at any age, whether it be elementary students or secondary students, rely on school to be a place to learn and grow. Divorce can be challenging for students to navigate but here are FIVE Tips for families who are in the easy divorce process or who have already been divorced: 
- Field Trips: Alternate which parent goes on which field trip. Keep your former spouse informed of all school correspondence. Oftentimes phone calls or text messaging can get heated, so a simple email will do to keep each other informed. As a divorce attorney, I would agree with the email too….especially for the timestamp!
- When communicating with the school via email, please tag your former spouse. By tagging your former spouse, this allows for complete transparency and gives the impression you both are willing to put your differences aside for the sake of your child. See above too- the timestamp is so important!
- Ensure that both parents are on the students checkout page. Oftentimes when enrolling your child in school or completing your beginning of the year paperwork in PowerSchool, it is easy to not add your former spouse. The online program can be tricky. Always call the school to verify you both are on the checkout list. It will prevent future arguments!
- Don’t throw your former spouse under the bus with their teacher. If they are that bad, 9 times out of ten the teacher is already aware
- Share progress reports and report cards with your former spouse. Problems arise when one party is left in the dark. I suggest taking a picture of the grade reporting and sending it via email…especially for the timestamp!
Hopefully these tips can provide some needed guidance as you navigate the divorce process in Alabama.
Attorney Steven A. Harris regularly blogs in the areas of family law, bankruptcy, probate, and real estate closings on this website. Mr. Harris tries to provide informative information to the public in easily digestible formats. Hopefully you enjoyed this article and feel free to supply feedback. We appreciate our readers & love to hear from you!