How do schools generally place children for the upcoming year?

[Miss Information]

So I have been wondering...when schools place returning children for the upcoming years, do they randomly assign teachers, or do they make any consideration for the child's past performance.

My K child's school placed her very well this year. She is in with a newer teacher who challenges the students a little bit. She tested really well in the K assessments, and they knew she was a very shy child (in fact so shy she almost failed her testing because she froze when she was tested at first - we had to re-do one of her tests because she wouldn't respond).

For next year though, do schools generally take ability/personality into account, or do they just randomly assign teachers?

I don't know, I'm just wondering. Because she ended up in K with a great teacher, and I don't know if that was just luck or what.

[moondiapers]

Around here they place the kids by math level. The kids don't switch teahers for math so they want the teacher to hafe children of similar level/ability to teach. They do switch teachers for reading though.

[alegna]

IME- the previous year teacher has VERY little to do with the process. The process is usually done right before the start of the new year. An administrator usually does it. They do generally take comments from the last year teacher in the form of- don't put bobby and jimmy in the same class- but beyond that it's pretty random IME.

-Angela

[CarrieMF]

I have no idea how they do it, it's something I need to find out for next year though for my youngest. She would NOT do good in the Grade 1 class that my middle dd is in. The teacher is not a good fit for her, but is perfect for my middle dd.

Here it is something that the teachers are at least thinking about now, I don't know when the actual process takes place. I imagine it is the day or 2 before school starts in the fall when the teachers come back as there'd be new kids registered over the summer/moved away.

2 years ago there was an issue some parents had with a certain teacher. Those same parents requested that their kids NOT be placed in that class again the next year(she taught a split class). The principal wanted those same kids in that class because it was the teacher's last chance at the school. Having parents with kids in the same class 2 years in a row would give a better idea on whether she was improving. I think the parents had final say but they did try to convince her & the ones I know who had requested their child to not be in that class at first kept their kid in that class. The teacher is no longer here, she's teaching in Mexico now.

[mamatowill]

Well I am a teacher and I can tell you how it is done at my school. First we looked at any special needs students and decided who was going to be the best fit. We then looked at combinations of students- i.e. who was bullied, a bully or needed to branch out in friendships. Also we looked at the personalities of the students themselves to try and get the best fit that way. We did take into consideration if we knew that there would be a big conflict between student and teacher. Finally we just divided up the remaining students evenly between classes. You have a better chance with a great fit when there a more than one class. Next year I am the only teacher for my grade so there is no real choice at my school.

[jen in co]

In our district it's a pretty involved process. My understanding is that they really focus on having balanced (ability level, personality, etc.) classes. From talking to friends who are teachers in our district, they say they normally start by ranking the kids academically and try to divide the kids up that way first (evenyly distributing higher and lower achieving kids), then they take into account personality types and parental input.

Parents aren't allowed to request a specific teacher, but we were able to fill out a form about what we see as our child's strengths, what things are tough for them and what type of environment we think they would do best in. I hadn't planned to fill out the form...my kid is pretty adaptable and loves school, so I figured I'd pass. But, a friend gave me some feedback about her DDs 1st grade teacher and really recommended I fill out the form, so my DD didn't end up getting the same teacher. Apparently she's ancient, talks about how she wishes she was retired and yells a lot. My friend felt like all of the kids without older siblings didn't know better and didn't fill out the form and they just gave the mellow, relatively good behaving kids to this woman b/c that's all she can handle. She said there wasn't a single kid in her class who actually had an older sibling. The teacher apparently has little classroom control and is just generally crabby. I ended up filling out the form right before the deadline and emphasized that my DD did better in a less chaotic, calm, organized environment environment ... I honestly felt idiotic filling it out b/c I felt like all I was doing was trying to describe everything this teacher isn't. I also felt bad b/c I think beyond obvious personality clashes (certain kids shouldn't be together) and balancing by abilities/behavior issues, it should be random and parents shouldn't have input. I also felt bad b/c if I hadn't run into this friend, I would never have thought about filling out the form...it seems like a little bit of a rigged system.

Edited to Add: One thing I like that friend (4th grade teacher) of mine does at her school (in our district) is she lets each of the kids/parents fill out a form that includes space for the child to write down the names of 5 friends. She tries to make sure each kid ends up in a class with at least 1-2 kids from their list. It's a huge pain coordination wise, but she feels like kids really benefit from having some of their close friends in their class. Especially given that beyond lunch, other recesses/playtime tend to be scheduled by the individual teacher at that age and there's not always a 4th grade recess at the same time for all of the classes at her school.

[messy mama]

In my boy's school, the teachers have a meeting at the end of the year. This year's teachers get together w/ next year's teachers and they discuss which kids will fit best with which teachers. They also take into account if a student has issues w/ another student in the class.

[Miss Information]

Originally Posted by messy mama

In my boy's school, the teachers have a meeting at the end of the year. This year's teachers get together w/ next year's teachers and they discuss which kids will fit best with which teachers. They also take into account if a student has issues w/ another student in the class.

Wow, that seems to make a lot of sense. That seems to make it so that everyone has a good chance of being set up for success in a way.

[Miss Information]

It's interesting how things go then. The other reason why I'm asking is that my dd's K teacher helped her grow so much in school. She is bright as well. But I would hate to lose ground if she is in with a teacher that is a bad match for her.

I'd hate to see her lose ground or lose her love of learning because of a "bad" teacher. And since there is no gifted program until 4th grade, if dd isn't adequately challenged (for instance if the teacher doesn't distinguish how she teaches the brighter kids from the average kids), I worry she might be in for boredom and trouble. And also by bad teacher I also mean by the fact that the teacher has poor classroom management skills and is just too burned out to be creative with the ones that are the "good" kids.

I know I can't protect my daughter from everything, but she's had such a great start, I want to keep it going.

If her teacher has any say so in the matter, I know I can be assured that she will be placed with a teacher she can do well with. Her teacher now recognizes my dd's abilities and she would have a lot to say about her abilities.

Thanks for the input girls. I was just wondering how things generally are done. I don't want to be one of "those" parents to stir up trouble, but I am curious. I do want to know how they will continue to challenge her.

[mata]

in our area class assignment happens in June. as far as I can tell, the 1st and 2nd grade classes are an equal scattering of various reading levels, and behavioral issue (potential personality conflicts, etc..) Things change slightly in third grade when GATE kicks in. Something I have done is write to the principal expressing what type of classroom environment/teacher I think would work best. So far we have had wonderful luck.

[UUMom]

Ime, with our school, it's not random. If you have particular thoughts about placement, I would make an appointment with the folks who decide.

[Aries1985]

I have yet to see exactly how it's going to go at my school, but I can say that I will be fighting hard to place kids with certain teachers. The teacher's personality has soo much to do with what the child will walk away with, especially depending on the child's personality.

[savithny]

our school is moving towards a system of building classes and then matching them with a teacher.

I'm not sure how they do it, but we were asked to fill out a sheet with questions about our child and what we hoped for their placement for the following year. We could list five children our child would do well paired with, and they promised they'd try to place them in the same class with at least one. We were told we shouldn't try to request a specific teacher, though.

I know they have a lot to balance here because a large portion of each class is ESL, and they try to group them into 1 or 2 of the 3 classes.

I'm pretty pleased with the way it worked out this year, all in all.

[Leatherette]

I teach at the same school where I am a parent, so I know it from both sides... You can't request a certain teacher. You can submit a letter to the principal explaining your child's personality and learning style, but can't mention any particular teacher's name (we have two general ed and one gifted ed. teacher at each level). Aside from the gifted ed. classes, which a child tests into, the kids are not grouped by ability. They are grouped to have a good mix of gender, ethnicity and ability in each class, and to avoid conflicts wherever possible. And we are hiring two new teachers and teachers can switch grade levels, so being wedded to one teacher can be futile. Sometimes, and with all due respect, a parent can have an initial negative feeling about a teacher who ends up being great with their child, and vice-versa. I was positive that my son would love his first grade teacher (not at the school we are at now), and it did not work at all. Turns out he had a great personality, but was not a very good teacher, particularly for my son.

I am a special education teacher and all of my kids are in regular or gifted classes most of the day, and I do get input into which teachers they will work best with (gifted students have no choice as there is only one teacher), and if I have two kids at one grade level, have them with the same teacher to facilitate in-class support and pull-outs.

I have one kid who needs to be challenged and have a very firm teacher, and one who needs a "mama bear" type who does lots of hugging and nurturing. Most teachers are a combination of the two, and a good teacher can adjust their approach depending on the personality of the student, IMO.

Teaching is such a relationship-based endeavor.

L.

[Miss Information]

Originally Posted by Leatherette

Teaching is such a relationship-based endeavor.

L.

That's my gut instinct too. I remember having such great relationships with a few of my teachers. I wanted to excel partly for myself and partly because I really got a great feeling being appreciated by certain teachers. I can think of three teachers that really left a great impression on me that made me want to strive harder. Then I had one really terrible science teacher in 6th grade that made me cry in school because I didn't know something. Thank God that one teacher never killed my love of science as I ended up becoming a scientist.

I have heard of some teachers not doing wanting to go the extra mile for the brighter students. I know one of the teachers in my old school district (she is my sister's MIL) who has been teaching for forever and is very bitter towards a lot - predominantly the extra work learning the standards for NCLB, and also feeling like most parents think there kids are gifted when they really aren't.

I've only heard a little bit of bad stuff about one third grade teacher in my dd's school. So she has a bit of a while before I have to worry about that teacher.

I also know that other parents complain about teachers or administrative decisions based solely on their child's experience and then say things like "how can they do that to the children" - making it sound like all the children were equally affected. An example of this was when one parent's son was practically devastated that midway through school, they moved the teacher's aide to another class. My child, though sad that they changed the aide, accepted the change with relative ease. In fact, she's come to love the new aide equally.

I don't know, my dd1 seems to be more resilient than my other two, so she may surprise me. She might do just fine.

I do want to talk with her current teacher to find out if she may have any say whatsoever in placement for next year though. Perhaps she can have some input. I don't know. At least I suppose I can ask how they do things.

She knows my daughter is flying through the DRA books. Her teacher has given her two this week. She knows that dd1 is advanced. She has spoken very favorably of her. Hopefully she can give some input.

[Adele_Mommy]

I posted this on your other thread about reading assessments, but it fits more here so I am re-posting it.

**********************

They probably do consider input from the child's current teacher, but I would suggest talking to the guidance counselor if your school has one. I was not very happy with my dd's first grade teacher (my dd had done kindergarten at a different school), so in the spring (about this time last year actually) I had a meeting with the guidance counselor and we talked about what sort of teaching style and classroom environment would be best for dd. The guidance counselor explained to me how the teachers, administration, and she work together to make the class rosters for the next year and said she would make sure my dd was placed in an appropriate class. I am much happier with dd's teacher this year.

[Tinkerszs]

I'd also mention it to the child's teacher. I do listen when parents let me know of their wishes for the coming year. Parents can't request teachers, but I still listen. It is a lot less "official" that way and I've always accommodated the parents and no one else in my school knew it was even a request.

[KtClaire]

It's a really involved process where I teach. Parents just got a survey asking them about their child's strengths, needs, etc. They are asked not to request a specific teacher, but many do, or at least describe an "ideal teacher." Early May teachers get articulation cards where they fill out demo info about kids, and also add personal notes (separate from . . . , needs highly structured class, etc.) Late May the grade level teams come together to make classes. We need to make them balanced for gender, ability, race, behavior. We take into consideration what parents said, & also who we think would thrive in which environment. Classes are posted & other teachers see the classes & can comment ( valuable for specialists who aren't there for forming the classes but have valuable insight.) Then right before the end of school, grade level teams meet with the grade ahead & the grade before. Teachers get their list & the grade level teams discuss classes, who was placed where, why, things someone needs to know about a child, etc. Then a week before school starts parents & students find out their child's teachers. It's far from random. I can't imagine any school placing students randomly. That's just asking for trouble & headaches!

[Miss Information]

Originally Posted by KtClaire

It's a really involved process where I teach. Parents just got a survey asking them about their child's strengths, needs, etc. They are asked not to request a specific teacher, but many do, or at least describe an "ideal teacher." Early May teachers get articulation cards where they fill out demo info about kids, and also add personal notes (separate from . . . , needs highly structured class, etc.) Late May the grade level teams come together to make classes. We need to make them balanced for gender, ability, race, behavior. We take into consideration what parents said, & also who we think would thrive in which environment. Classes are posted & other teachers see the classes & can comment ( valuable for specialists who aren't there for forming the classes but have valuable insight.) Then right before the end of school, grade level teams meet with the grade ahead & the grade before. Teachers get their list & the grade level teams discuss classes, who was placed where, why, things someone needs to know about a child, etc. Then a week before school starts parents & students find out their child's teachers. It's far from random. I can't imagine any school placing students randomly. That's just asking for trouble & headaches!

Hmm, the only paper that went home was one that asked us if our child was coming back next year. There was no place to offer input. And of course two weeks ago, when the papers came home, I didn't think to add comments of my own on there. Shoot. I could easily have done that at least.

[alegna]

Originally Posted by KtClaire

I can't imagine any school placing students randomly. That's just asking for trouble & headaches!

Start imagining When I taught in public schools the administrators did it (#1) and in an elem. school of over 1200 kids, they didn't know much about the kids, I assure you. They asked VERY minimal info from the teachers- which kids absolutely should not go together- that was really it. Then they assigned (pretty much randomly...) based on sex/race/etc. to balance the classes.

-Angela