Teacher issues, principal offered to move my child

[Anonymous]

My child is in first grade and has a teacher who is new to the school and not a first year teacher, but only has one or two years of experience in another district. Let me start by saying this is my third kid and we have experienced the gamut of teachers and I have never once complained, despite some being better than others and different teaching styles and personalities. From the outset, my impression of this teacher has been that she is very sweet but has no clue what she is doing, is very disorganized and overwhelmed, and may or may not be teaching the kids anything. Basically throughout the first nine weeks, there was a total breakdown in communication - she doesn't send a newsletter (required by school), papers are rarely sent home, and she doesn't respond to emails or requests to communicate. After multiple attempts, I reached out to the counselor who thought it was important to keep the principal in the loop. After a brief meeting with the principal, she right away offered to move my kid to a different class. I was shocked because she is not known for ever moving kids and I wasn't even requesting it. She said of course she will address these issues but it is unlikely to be a quick fix and it makes me wonder if there are some pretty big issues and she knows it, and she's giving me an out. I have no idea what to do - obviously uprooting my kid is not ideal, and he is not unhappy, the teacher is nice, so he has no idea there are issues (I have never let on that I have concerns). On the other hand, I know that the teacher he would be moved to is amazing and he will learn a lot and have a great first grade experience there, so it is tempting. On the other hand, I don't want to be viewed as a busy body or complainer, especially since I didn't even ask for this! I don't know if the main problem is essentially a failure to communicate, or if there are big instructional issues that could mean my child will be behind by the end of the school year if he stays in that class. What would you do in this situation? I have never been faced with anything like this.

[Anonymous]

The teacher he would be moved to is amazing.

That's all you need to know - move your kid. The Principal is doing you a favor because you've been a parent at this school a long time. Jump at the chance. I jumped at the chance of moving my kid when the teacher was horrible.

[Anonymous]

If what you are writing is true... take the offer to move your kid. You mentioned this is your third kids, which means you are known by the school, and because you have not complained in the past, you don't have a reputation as "that parent". I think your read is correct that they are aware of serious issues, so go ahead and make the move. You don't have to make this a "big deal" for your kids. Sometimes kids move classes. No need to get into bashing the teacher to your kid. Let the school admin work on the issue, and let your kid continue to learn in another class.

[Anonymous]

OP: You have not presented any real issue unless you are upset that the principal offered an immediate solution so quickly.

[Anonymous]

Move. I says this as a teacher who did not want to be “that parent” and let my eldest kid suffer in first grade although there was an amazing teacher across the hall. Still regret it 24 years later.

[Anonymous]

I would guess she knows there are bigger issues behind the scenes that are not going to be fixed quickly (or they would have been already) so she is doing you a favor to give you an out before the situation worsens and you are truly unhappy with it.

It’s such an unusual move by the principal that I would take the classroom switch.

[Anonymous]

Take the offer for the switch.

—an ES school principal and mom

[Anonymous]

Move your kid. Ask for him to be moved the Monday after Thanksgiving and make sure the principal, the new teacher and your boy are all on the same page about the answer to "why'd you switch classes?"

[Anonymous]

How many kids are in the class? I wonder if this isn’t actually helpful to the principal. If there’s a teacher who is overwhelmed, and has, say, 28 kids in the class, while an experienced teacher had some kids leave early on and now only has 23, they might be eager to move some kids over to make things easier/more manageable for the weak teacher. So the principal may have decided to just move the first 5 kids whose parents complain.

Ie, maybe this move would actually help the larger problem.

In any case, take the move.

[Anonymous]

They may be trying to keep you from rallying other parents to complain about this teacher, and that may be because at this point there's little they can do about an incompetent teacher, there are no other teachers waiting in the wings to take over.

[Anonymous]

Definitely move. That is a tough year to have an inexperienced teacher. Take the switch and don't look back!

[Anonymous]

Rarely in the history of DCUM is there consensus - but your case there is. Do not try and make this more than it is. Move your child be aware that someone just did you a huge favor.

[Anonymous]

There are only so many kids the principal can move out of that class. Take the offer immediately. First grade is such an important grade.
Signed school psychologist

P.S. Be really nice to the teacher your child is moving to because guaranteed she is annoyed she is getting another kid because the other teacher isn’t pulling her weight.

[Anonymous]

Take the switch, just be prepared for some mom-friends to drop you over this.

[Anonymous]

Move your kid. Wasting one year of education would be devastating for your child. Thank the principal and move on.