SSSAS: Advice for dealing with a bad teacher

[Anonymous]

My son did well in math in SSSAS middle school and earned A's all three years. This year at the upper school we have a new math teacher and she does not seem to be good at all. She is difficult to understand and her teaching methods are questionable. She assigns homework that is not covered in class and the class as whole is not performing well. After reaching out to the teacher directly, who should I contact at the upper school to discuss the challenges my son is facing? The head of upper school? Math dept chair?

[Anonymous]

My kid is at a different DC area private school. She has a math teacher everyone hates. They say he is a terrible teacher. I got my child a tutor. I doubt you will be the first person to complain and yet the school continues t keep the teacher. What is your goal here? Get your kid switched to a different teacher?

[Anonymous]

Just get a tutor.

[Anonymous]

‘Whom should I contact’

[Anonymous]

If the teacher is new to the school this year, then contact the Head of the Upper School. If the teacher has been at the school for years, it's probably not worth complaining. You can contact a Dean or Advisory to see if you can get your kid switched to another class with a different teacher, but that's probably it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just get a tutor.

Great advice. Pay $50,000 and be okay with an incompetent teacher?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the teacher is new to the school this year, then contact the Head of the Upper School. If the teacher has been at the school for years, it's probably not worth complaining. You can contact a Dean or Advisory to see if you can get your kid switched to another class with a different teacher, but that's probably it.

OP here - thanks, this is good insight.

[Anonymous]

Do you really not have a friend or a contact within the school you could ask instead of airing dirty laundry like this? Not a SSSAS parent, just shocked someone would post here for a question like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son did well in math in SSSAS middle school and earned A's all three years. This year at the upper school we have a new math teacher and she does not seem to be good at all. She is difficult to understand and her teaching methods are questionable. She assigns homework that is not covered in class and the class as whole is not performing well. After reaching out to the teacher directly, who should I contact at the upper school to discuss the challenges my son is facing? The head of upper school? Math dept chair?

Go to Mallett directly. He’s very responsive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son did well in math in SSSAS middle school and earned A's all three years. This year at the upper school we have a new math teacher and she does not seem to be good at all. She is difficult to understand and her teaching methods are questionable. She assigns homework that is not covered in class and the class as whole is not performing well. After reaching out to the teacher directly, who should I contact at the upper school to discuss the challenges my son is facing? The head of upper school? Math dept chair?

Go to Mallett directly. He’s very responsive.

Yes and no. We thought so until we switched schools and the responsiveness and redundancy as far as keeping things like this from slipping through the cracks at our new school is light years ahead (we’ve now been out several years). At SSSAS we found the only way to be treated fairly is to be the squeaky wheel. Email head of the math dept, head of US and the advisory. If one person replies cc the others when you reply back and stay on it. I’d also ask parent friends in the class to do the same. They don’t deal w/ issues until enough complain. Expect them to be defensive but stay on it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son did well in math in SSSAS middle school and earned A's all three years. This year at the upper school we have a new math teacher and she does not seem to be good at all. She is difficult to understand and her teaching methods are questionable. She assigns homework that is not covered in class and the class as whole is not performing well. After reaching out to the teacher directly, who should I contact at the upper school to discuss the challenges my son is facing? The head of upper school? Math dept chair?

I’m sorry OP but “we” have a new math teacher?

This whole post reads as though you think you are a student in the class. Why don’t you dare try to let your son advocate for himself?

[Anonymous]

OP - My DC is also a freshman at SSSAS and struggling with the math teacher. I assumed it was just a case of getting used to a new subject, system, and teacher, but now I'm wondering if its the same one. Is your child's teacher M or F. Is it Algebra or Geometry?

[Anonymous]

PP here. Just say the teacher is Female. My DC's teacher is also female and new to the school this year. Maybe it's just a settling in period.

[Anonymous]

I believe my child has the same teacher. Already planned to reach out to the advisor and then escalate as necessary. Apparently in addition to being hard to understand and not explaining concepts well, the teacher is not receptive to questions and has a disruptive way of setting an alarm off during tests to alert students that they can ask questions for five minutes. I am not paying $50K per year for a subpar, new teacher when my child isn’t even learning the concepts.

[Anonymous]

There is power in numbers. Advisors in the US are not like they are in the MS. I would go directly to the US director, Mallet. Everyone.