Imagine walking down the hall and hearing, “She took my phone,” or “Ugh, she gives too much work!” However, that person isn’t just a teacher at your school. She’s also your mom. This is the reality for Vance and Maris Rutledge and their mother, Annette Kominiarek.

There are multiple students and teachers that have family members attending the same school. In this specific situation, Kominiarek is a mother of two. This could be very stressful. She has to deal with different events than most teachers.

There are many pros and cons of having a parent that works at the same school as you. For example, M. Rutledge explained, “Sometimes it’s convenient, and sometimes it’s weird. If I need anything I can always go to her classroom, but it’s weird hearing people talk about her to me.”

V. Rutledge feels similar. Family and school can be good and bad. For instance, V Rutledge states, ¨Pros are not being able to lose things as easy and not having to carry around a bag for practice, and there aren’t too many cons except maybe hearing people talk about her.¨

Teachers that have their children attending the same school do get the advantage of seeing the kind of people they should and shouldn’t let their kids be around. Kominiarek says, “Pros are that I know their friends better. As a mom, I want to know who they are hanging out with, and who they shouldn’t be hanging around with or prefer they didn’t. I think sometimes cons are the same thing, feeling like I’m not giving them enough space. So, I´m really conscious of making sure there´s that separation. So, that it´s not like I´m hovering over them, but that they can still have a normal high school experience.

Many parents don’t see their kids during school time, but for Kominiarek it’s a little different. Kominiarek explains, “I really enjoy having that extra time, I feel like I hit the jackpot because not everyone is in that position. They don’t get to see that side of their kids at school, so I really enjoy that.”

Relatives that go to the same school are something many people don’t experience, and Kominiarek and her children help us get a little insight into how it feels.