Student Suspended For Shaving Head after Chemotherapy

Has your child ever been singled out at school for being different?  Has their individuality meant they don’t conform to the school’s dress code?  This week in the US, one school’s dress standards have become international news and put two very brave little girls and the issue of childhood cancer in the spotlight. 

Kamryn Renfro never imagined that when she decided to shave her head, it would become international news.  She wanted to do it to support her good friend, 11-year-old Delaney Clements who has been fighting neuroblastoma since the age of 7.  Chemotherapy treatment has caused her to go bald.  Kamryn, who is in the third grade at Caprock Academy in Colorado said, “It felt like the right thing to do.”  Delaney felt uplifted by the show of support. “It made me feel very special and that I’m not alone,” she said.

But when Kamryn returned to school after shaving her head, she wasn’t allowed in.  The school told her parents her bald head violated the school’s dress code and that she wasn’t to return until her hair had grown back.  Her mother Jamie Renfro sparked a storm on social media when she posted the issue on her Facebook page. Thousands of people showed their support and admiration for Kamryn’s brave decision.  After the issue blew up, the board of directors voted and agreed to let Kamryn return to school.

So what makes such a rule this black and white when it comes to the school board?  According to CBS News, Chairwoman Catherine Norton Breman said “We’re a classical education school.  We would expect our students to engage in critical thinking, and sometimes that’s going to be challenging us.” She went on to say Kamryn’s motivation was “commendable.”  The school made a statement saying it was correct to act against Kamryn until the board was able to vote on her particular case.  In other words, rules are rules.  At least until a particular case can be made against a rule.      

Jamie is now asking the public to ‘back off’ the school’s initial decision to ban her daughter from school, saying the focus needs to be on Delaney’s recovery.  “We will continue to support them, love them, and use this platform to raise awareness for childhood cancer and recruit people to support and love Delaney,” she wrote on her Facebook page.

Kamryn’s mother couldn’t be more correct.  At the centre of this blunder is a very sick little girl in the fight of her life.  The Denver Post reports that Delaney is waiting to find out if she can undergo another round of chemotherapy for what is actually her fourth relapse of neuroblastoma.  Surely this little girl could use all the support she can get?
Do you think school rules should be relaxed in special cases like this?  Do schools need to follow blanket rules in order to show their authority?