PTO Today

Hi all - first post...

I have a 7 year old son in second grade who was chosen to be a peer model in the collaborative/inclusion classroom. He is an avid reader and has always been an excellent student - near perfect marks academically and behaviorally.

This year has been very difficult for him. He is experiencing extreme difficulty in completing his class work, listening to the teacher and thus has had this reflected on his most recent report card. He complains that the classroom is very distracting, the behaviors are inappropriate and the teacher is very mean because other children are given "lots of chances" and he is held accountable to a different standard behaviorally and academically.

I went into the classroom to observe and found it to be a HUGELY distracting environment where children needed to be re-directed constantly by the teacher and aide. Some children experienced such difficulty that the re-direction had to occur on a every 5 minute basis! The room was a "buzz" of conversations, children reading aloud (when expected to read silently), etc. Honestly, I could not stay focused in this type of environment. Additionally, the door opened four times (in less than one hour) for groups of children to be called out to work in small groups with reading & speech specialists. Again, more distractions!

We have met with the teacher numerous times and have escalated this to the principal. The principal (who is new this year) mandated that our son meet with the guidance counselor to discuss his feelings about the classroom, teacher, etc. Our son POURED his heart out to the guidance counselor! After the meeting, we met with the counselor who recommended a classroom change for our child. She stated that the environment was NOT a good environment for our son and that in these types of cases, a change of classroom is necessary and should be done immediately.

This is where it gets really ugly.... The new principal will not change his classroom. Instead, she is mandating all sorts of "observations", etc. for our son.

My problem... a principal who now is ignoring the guidance counselor's recommedation and parental concern.

I am on the executive boad of our parent-teacher assosiation (treasurer for the past two years) and am at a loss of what to do next. Every child deserves a right to a distraction free education...

What I would like...

ADVICE??? SUGGESTIONS??? SIMILIAR EXPERIENCES????

Proceed strictly as a parent. This has nothing to do as PTO/PTA, so be sure not to cloud the issue.

I'd get the recommendation from the guidance counselor in writing. Note - since your principal (their boss) is against it, it's possible the counselor may not be willing to put write it as a formal recommendation. But you should be able to accomplish the same thing via email.

Then go to the next level, most likely the superintendent. You'll have to decide whether you notify the principal or decide to just do it. But focus on the facts (not the emotion of the issues) and treat it like any other appeals process. The school is in the "business" of delivering education. You are not satisified and are taking your request for resolution upwards through the appropriate channels.

If possible, I would suggest notifying the principal. Even though this is a highly personal issue, try to keep it objective:

There is an issue with your son's ability to succeed in his current class. You've investigated the situation yourself, consulted with the teacher, and gotten what you think is a valid recommendation from the school counselor. The principal disagrees with that solution, therefore you are appealing [B]that decision[/B] to the next level.

The point isn't to complain about the principal or whether you like/don't like him. The point is to apeal that particular [U]decision[/U] and get what your son needs.

I'll second JHB's recommendation. I would contact the superintendent office by phone and set up an appointment to discuss the situation. Don't attack the principal's decision, just voice to the superintendent that you don't agree with the decision and neither does the counselor and that you feel that you needed to bring the issue to the next level because your son is very upset and is not receiving the education he deserves.

What a tough situation. My heart goes out to you.

__________________
Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat.

Thanks for the words of advice.

It's SO tough, I don't want this to cloud my feelings regarding the school or this particular person. However, my meeting with her was far from positive.

I want to continue to provide all of the extras for the children, parents, teachers and administration through my volunteer efforts but this has definitely been a very trying experience (coupled with our Holiday Bazaar coming on Saturday!).

Again, thanks for your words of advice!

Totally agree (as usual) with JHB. This is not a PTA issue and as such should not interfere there. As a parent you have the right to request and receive certain things, including a ditraction free learning environment for your child.

One possible concern is how you explained that numerous children were being pulled out for small group instruction. This likely means that that class has a large number of SPED children. We had this problem last year with my daughter's class where the previous Principal put a great majority of the SPED children with this one teacher due to her experience. What it ended up doing is creating a difficult classroom for my daughter, and ultimately the teacher as well. In the end the new Principal changed things up this year by evenly distributing the SPED children throughout the classes.

I don't believe that anything could be done there, but you might be able to look into it and find out if the % of SPED is higher in that class. If so that may explain some of the difficulties.

Next step, as the Principal is being so unwilling to make the change, is to talk to her one last time and explain that you are again requesting an immediate change of classroom for your child and for the madated "observations" to stop. If she is unwilling then you will likely need to explain that "you feel strongly enough for the need of this that your next step will be to set up a meeting with the town's Superintendant of Schools to formally request this change".

As a new Principal that will likely make her see the need, and should scare her into doing the right thing. No one wants their supervisor to receive negative feedback regarding their work.

Hope things work out.

PresidentJim

how about this one: before you decide to go to the top to request a change of classrooms, have YOU sat in and observed the other classroom that would have room for your son???

it could be not any better than present one, and it could be worse.

also, it well may be that IF teachers cant control their classroom, that there is also a problem not just with one (or other) teachers, but with the management. its prinicpals jobs to make sure classes run smoothly. sounds like yours doenst.

its something to consider. after all the devil you know (current class) might be better than the devil you dont (and changing classrooms in and of itself is traumatic to 7yrs olds).

and, if there are problems with organization in the current grade, there might also be problems in higher grades as well.....you might look into your other options for long term planning.............GOOD LUCK

I had my 8 year old daughter swithched after 6 weeks of school this year- she survived it fine- it wasn't tramautic (if anything, it was more of a tramautic decision for me). Our problem was with the teacher and her teaching style. (and much more!) I talked with her teacher several times and nothing changed- it only got worse. I then went to the guidance counselor with a page-long list of concerns and the key phrase was "my child cannot learn in this kind of environment". She said the next step was for her to meet with the principal and then for the three of us to meet and decide what to do next. I received a phone call within 15 minutes and was told she would be switched, then I received a call a few hours later and was told the guidance counselor and principal would move her belongings after school to the new classroom. I was so freaked out! I talked with the guidance counselor and requested that she talk with my daughter and explain to her that "because your class has received two new students, we need to move someone and we think you would be the perfect one for this new transition!" My daughter felt pretty proud that "she" was picked! She is doing much better now! What I was ready to do if my problem wasn't solved, was to threaten (and follow through) to move her to another school until the end of the year! I don't think they would've wanted to lose her- or me. I am very active in our pta and with volunteering in the school between both of my daughters' classrooms. My husband is also a teacher in the district, but at the high school. He had nothing to do with any of this (which I advise against, as it happened so fast that I didn't really get to consult with him and he wasn't too pleased!) I don't think you should go to the superintendant yet. First, call the school secretary and set up a meeting with both the principal and the guidance counselor together. Let them know that you wanted to all get on the same page. See where it goes from there. Document everything that has happened so far. Get copies of his previous report cards, evaluations, etc.. to show how drastic his progress has changed. Talk with his other teachers, (music, gym, art, librarian) and see if there is any change there also. If not, there is more proof that it indeed his the classroom environment. If all fails, go to the super. Good Luck!

__________________
[I][B]

1. gingergail

[/B][/I]