Any luck/experience in getting a classroom switch?

[Anonymous]

DD is in a class this year (4th grade) with 2 students who have disruptive and often violent outbursts. Her class has to evacuate at least once a week if not more. The kids just had 5 days off and she reported that today they spent most of the morning in another teacher's classroom because of a student outburst with chair throwing. They went back to their classroom after lunch and the other student kept having verbal outbursts and disrupting class.

She's upset because she can't remember if her teacher said they have a math test tomorrow or if it was delayed. I told her we would prep tonight like the test would be tomorrow because extra studying never hurt anyone.

I emailed the Principal last month to ask about a classroom change and was told that no changes are being granted. Would an in-person meeting help? DD's grades are not where they have been in the past and I believe this is a result of the learning environment she's in. I emailed her teacher to ask about the possibility of moving her seat into another cluster of desks to be away from the kid who has the verbal outbursts.

If the 4th grade has 3 students with behavior issues, why wouldn't the school divide them so that each teacher gets one instead of assigning 2 to a single teacher? Is it an experience thing because DDs teacher is a 10+ year teacher and the other 2 4th grade teachers are newer, like, 2-4 years of experience.

[Anonymous]

You need to get more parents on your side. Then you can all approach the teacher to have the problematic student removed (placed into a self-contained sped classroom).

[Anonymous]

Complain in writing every time there is an incident and include the specific impacts on your child. Try to get other parents to also complain in writing. There are probably things going on behind the scenes but it moves very slowly and at least in APS the district will fight against providing any additional services or support even if the school staff is on board.

[Anonymous]

Call Arlington now or the equivalent. Tell them there is violence in the classroom that is not being addressed. Write all school board members and the superintendent. I’m a teacher and sick of this sh!t where we are powerless

[Anonymous]

Sometimes they'll group students with issues so they can save money on providing services. Do the kids share an aide?

[Anonymous]

Absolutely ridiculous that we aren’t separating kids by ability — academically AND behaviorally.

They should make the parent attend school with the child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes they'll group students with issues so they can save money on providing services. Do the kids share an aide?

Only one child has an aide. I wonder if the other kid doesn't have an official diagnosis to quality for one? IDK.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely ridiculous that we aren’t separating kids by ability — academically AND behaviorally.

They should make the parent attend school with the child.

Oh yes, let’s bring back segregation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely ridiculous that we aren’t separating kids by ability — academically AND behaviorally.

They should make the parent attend school with the child.

Oh yes, let’s bring back segregation.

That’s not what segregation is, and you know that.

But I guess I don’t assume that Black and Hispanic kids a) aren’t as highly able, and b) the ones with the behavior issues. I think these things affect all races.

You just outed yourself, bigot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Complain in writing every time there is an incident and include the specific impacts on your child. Try to get other parents to also complain in writing. There are probably things going on behind the scenes but it moves very slowly and at least in APS the district will fight against providing any additional services or support even if the school staff is on board.

This. Put everything in writing to the principal and cc the division superintendent. Share your concerns at the next school board meeting.

[Anonymous]

I am aware of a similar case in Arlington that wasn’t addressed until a classmate’s parent drafted a petition to the superintendent and had it signed by a significant number of affected families. The child was finally placed in a program at Campbell, I believe against the wishes of the parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely ridiculous that we aren’t separating kids by ability — academically AND behaviorally.

They should make the parent attend school with the child.

Oh yes, let’s bring back segregation.

For the health and safety of others? Yes.

[Anonymous]

Definitely email the teacher about the seat change. Start documenting now--write down what your child reports and the effects you see, including drops in grades compared to past years. Document if she feels unsafe or anxious in the classroom, and whether that affects her willingness to participate in class.

Then have the meeting with the principal. Share what information you gathered and ask what they can do to help your child be more successful/feel safe, etc. Afterwards, email them a follow-up with a detailed list of what concerns you shared, CCing someone(s) at the district level.

As for how multiple behavior issues end up in a class, IME that can happen due to staffing. If three students have high needs and require lots of support per the IEPs, it may not not physically possible to service them in different classrooms given current staffing allocations. If a special education teacher needs to give three kids four hours of service daily per their IEPs, that's not possible in three different classrooms. This goes back to Virginia laws about how they allocate caseloads legally, particularly for students with emotional disabilities who require an intense amount of support.

[Anonymous]

Behavior issues in the absence of a disability are just issues of bad parenting.

Agree - make the parents chaperone the child at school until behavior improves.

Or bring back alternative school for kids who can’t get it together.

True sped kids (ones with actual disabilities) are a totally different story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to get more parents on your side. Then you can all approach the teacher to have the problematic student removed (placed into a self-contained sped classroom).

This. The answer isn’t removing your kid and letting other people’s kids stay in a sucky situation. Complain via email and often. Get other parents to do the same. Raise it to the district level if needed. Emphasize the safety concerns and learning consequences. Widespread parent complaints are the ONLY way anything gets changed in APS.