WWYD? How to raise concerns re teacher's efficacy.

[Anonymous]

My DC has a teacher that is new to our school this year. I have had nagging fears since the beginning of the school year that her teacher is out of her depth. Having had a child in this grade before, I see a huge difference in both quantity and quality of teaching performed by this teacher ranging from lack of lesson planning, lack of communication, lack of imagination, lack of ensuring the class "gets it" before moving on, etc., while at the same time taking days off and letting substitutes attempt to figure out what is going on. I feel like the first 10 weeks of school have been a complete waste of time and that my child has not learned a single thing new from last year. After speaking with other parents, I think we all feel the same way but are baffled on how to approach this. Do we raise the issue with the teacher (we fear backlash), with the head teacher for the grade level (can she do anything?) or go directly to the principal herself (we fear not being taken seriously, she is extremely protective of her teachers). Any experience out there? TIA

[Anonymous]

If a teacher is taking days off from school, that is a personnel issue you should go to the principal about. Principals who value instruction make it very difficult for teachers to be away from the classroom. You could send a general question to determine the school policy. You should assume that anything you put in writing about a teacher will be forwarded to the teacher. For questions about instruction you will need to start with the teacher and then go on to the department head (for grades 6 to 12) and AP/principal if you are not happy with the response. For students in grades 4 and above, you should expect the teachers to be responsive to reviewing test results and reteaching/reassessing if student's aren't "getting it."

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I think you need to figure out exactly what you want and can reasonably expect. It's highly unlikely that the teacher will be pulled, but maybe the parents want to come together to give her extra support? Have you thought about going to the PTA president and having her discuss this w/the principal. They likely have regular meetings and the PTA pres could present the situation w/o naming the teacher so the principal won't feel quite so defensive/protective (although the principal will probably know who it is). Then you could get some guidance from the principal about next steps.

[Anonymous]

OP< I think you and the other parents need to get (more) vocal with the teacher about what you don't like about her class or her assignments. You should be giving her (polite) feedback. She won't like it, but she needs to know, and if she responds decently then there's a chance she can improve.

Send her notes, meet with her, and be pleasant but specific.

"Dear Ms. Jones, Matt had a really hard time doing this homework assignment last night. As I tried to help him, I realized that the instructions were extremely unclear. I also was not at all sure what was being asked on the assignment, and so I told him he didn't need to complete it, and we would check with you today to see what was intended. I'm happy to supervise him on this assignbment tonight if you can make it clear to him what he is supposed to do."

"Dear Ms. Jones, Matt has been telling me that there is a field trip to the zoo next week, but I cannot find any information about it on the class calendar. Can you confirm the date for me? I'd like to volunteer for a chaperone but need at least 2 weeks notice to rearrange my schedule. Also, please let me know what's the best way to keep track of dates of school events. Would it be possible for you to send something home in the Friday Folder?"

"Ms. Jones -- I'm quite concerned that Matt has been making a number of basic arithmetic mistakes on his recent math classwork and homework; however, he has not been losing any points off his grade for these incorrect answers. I'm worried that he isn't learning to develop accuracy in math -- and he might not pass the MSA at the end of the year if this keeps up! Can you tell me if math accuracy is an important part of the curriculum this year, and what steps I can take to be sure he is mastering his basic facts?"

Also call the school and leave notes for the teacher. Don't be a pain -- but if she's not doing a good job of communicating basic details to parents, someone in the office needs to be made aware of that. If enough parents call the office for routine info, word WILL get back to the principal that Ms. Jones needs to improve her communication.

If you and several other parents all make an effort to call the teacher on the big things that are sliding, you should hopefully start seeing some improvement. If not, that is the point where you bring one or two of the biggest issues to the principal.

[Anonymous]

http://www.mlive.com/opinion/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/02/column_what_should_parents_loo.html

[Anonymous]

21:18 offers good advice. I can only add that you need to be as specific as possible in all your communications with the teacher and the principal. (The PP's suggested notes provide a good example in this regard.) Good luck!

[Anonymous]

21:18 again. OP, the key is to make sure several parents are all communicating with the teacher. If you are the only one sending notes and calling the office, you do risk being seen as a PITA parent. But if every time a questionable homework assignment goes home, the teacher gets 2 emails, 3 handwritten notes, and a phone call from parents about it -- that does register, and it's hard to blame it all on just one parent if that many people are bringing these issues to her attention.

[Anonymous]

OP back with an update. First, thank you all for your advice. I ended up taking 21:18's advice and used specific language detailing my concerns. Teacher responded essentially both acknowledging what I was upset about and also saying she had several other parents question her in this regard. She said she would be making changes in the upcoming weeks and hoped our concerns would be resolved. She also said that the principal has been mentoring her and that she was trying to implement some of the principal's lesson planning advice. All in all, it was strangely excellent. I'm really encouraged and have been talked down from the ledge.

[Anonymous]

OP, that's awesome! The fact that she was responsive, not defensive, and told you she was trying to make changes and improve, is really a good sign.

My son had a pretty inexperienced teacher last year in 2nd grade. I thought she was really rough around the edges, but she had a great heart, and really connected with my son and inspired him. His 3rd grade teacher seems much more organized and efficient, but the connectino just isn't there I'm sure my son will learn a lot from her too, but I do have a fondness for his teacher last year and I'm glad she was his teacher.