WASHINGTON, D.C. – The White House hosted public school administrators today with the goal of “rethinking school discipline.”

Obama senior advisor Valerie Jarrett relayed a story to the audience of how the president had counseled teens in Chicago about life goals. He invited several of them to the White House for a Father’s Day event after he became president.

MORE NEWS: Know These Before Moving From Cyprus To The UK

“One of the young men said, ‘you know, I’ve never signed a Father’s Day card.’ And the president said, ‘you know, I’ve never signed a Father’s Day card before.’ And you could just see these connections,” Jarrett said.

“They’re hungry for love. And they’re curious! They’re intellectually curious, they’re emotionally curious and it’s just this untapped potential that we should figure out how to take advantage of.”

At the conclusion of Jarrett’s thought, moderator Anna Deavere Smith added, “As you talk about the president, I think he’s kind of like the brother-in-chief or the father-in-chief in this regard,” to Jarrett’s nodding approval.

The White House was hosting school administrators from across the country to address how students are held accountable.

“What we are trying to do is use behavior, especially inappropriate behavior, as an opportunity for instruction,” Cynthia Jackson, Indianapolis Public Schools Positive Discipline Coordinator tells Indiana Public Media. “So there is going to be some opportunity for natural consequences but also an opportunity to learn new skills.”

She believes nothing should really be left up to parents.

MORE NEWS: How to prepare for face-to-face classes

“You got to look at the whole child. And I think the districts who provide supports that are looking at children’s academic and social and emotional growth — that children are more successful,” according to Jackson.

Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho attended as well.

“Students who are not in school whether because they are absent or because they are suspended, don’t learn,” Carvalho says, according to the Miami Herald.

Interestingly, it’s not the first time Obama has been referred to as the “father-in-chief.”

Just this week, in a segment on the Obamas’ family policy of cell phones at the dinner table, a Today Show correspondent referred to the president as “the nation’s father-in-chief.”