Who will Our Teacher be Next Year?

I have been spending a lot of time lately wondering about who my children will have as a teacher next year. Let's face it. School has some good years and some not so good years... and a lot of that has to do with how well your child (and your family) connects with the classroom teacher.

Here’s the process in place at some schools with a formal matching process for finding the right teacher for each child. (This is an excerpt from a principal’s letter that was sent home explaining the process):

1. Parents fill out a form toward the end of the year answering questions about the best learning environment for your child, any concerns that you have about your child and any children you do not want in your child’s class. This form is taken very seriously.

2. Then they talk to each classroom teacher about what they feel like the child needs from a teacher and a class - i.e. Firm teacher, lots of choices, work sheets VS free form work.

3. Each grade level develops a preliminary list based on child’s academic, social and special needs.

4. Next administrators review the groupings and assign teachers based on student needs and teacher strengths.

5. The special area teachers and special education staff review the list and make recommendations.

6. Finally the grade level teachers reconvene to review the classes to verify optimal placement.

In many cases the principal personally reviews each class to make sure she agrees with all the placements.

This process can be quite time-consuming... taking up to two months. But just consider all that the teachers, the students, and the administration have to gain when they take a bit of time to find the right match for a child's learning style.

Whether your school has this option or not, you should definitely make an effort to get to know the teachers in the next grade and talk to your kids about who they would prefer as a teacher. The rest is all about working with the school to find the best match and expressing your feelings to the teachers and the administration. Involved parents are more likely to have their opinions taken seriously so don't be shy to speak up.

Comments

[cathymccaughan]

Wow. I'm pretty sure our students are just divided so that they are all on a similar reading level.

[Lynnie]

Wow, that's pretty extensive! When I was teaching we just divided up the kids so that there were equal boys and girls, behavior issues were evenly distributed, and there was a mix of academic levels (There was no "high" class or "low" class). Parents rarely requested a teacher. My oldest goes to Kindergarten next year and I just submitted all the forms. I didn't put down a teacher preference since I don't know any of them that well, but I did write down the names of the 2 or 3 kids she knows hoping that they'd put her with at least one familiar face. I guess we'll see what happens!