The principal of Diamond Jenness secondary school in Hay River says any input from parents is a chance to establish communication.

"The worst thing is when you don't get that call," says Storey, who is in his second year at DJSS after four years as principal in Igloolik.

Some calls from parents can be difficult to deal with because many become emotional over their children, he notes. "We can understand when they come to us with strong feelings."

Storey says he is not scared of conflict. However, he stresses, he will not allow a parent to become abusive.

"We're going to be criticized. It comes with the territory. Sometimes it's warranted, sometimes it's not," he adds.

While some parents -- and students -- blame teachers for their problems with the educational system, most are very supportive of educators, he notes.

Teachers and parents need to avoid giving different messages to students, he advises. "It makes it difficult to give kids clear boundaries which they need to be successful."

Jack Keefe, an English and social studies teacher at DJSS, says teaching is a job in which a person develops a thick skin.

Keefe, who is in his 11th year at DJSS, says in that time he has had only two or three experiences in which parents have been unpleasant or abusive.

Keefe says he is not bothered by individual criticism, but rather a more generalized misconception that teachers are overpaid and under worked. "That, for me, is what wears thin after a while."

The teacher says students not doing well in school often have parents that the teachers never hear from.

"There is a definite correlation between a high achiever and a parent's positive involvement with teachers in the school."