Confused

[Anonymous]

Why do you need to know her position relative to the class? Children are assessed relative to the grade level benchmark and will pass or fail relative to that, not to the class. It doesn't matter how the class is doing and I don't understand why want that information so badly. If you persist in asking for irrelvant things over and over then yes, they're going to get annoyed at you.

Why can't you work with your daughter on developing the skills to bring the correct notebooks and turn in her work? Those are age-appropriate skills for 4th grade.

I'm very unclear on what you actually want. What is in the 504 and how has the teacher failed to follow it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would move her out of APP if she's struggling that much. And, I'd ask for an IEP and do a private evaluation if you haven't to make sure it's done properly.

I think some teachers have unrealistic expectations of kids that age. In ES. they should have an assignment book. Our teachers always checked it and signed off for every child, not just SN kids. Better teachers would regularly send out group emails to let parents know what's going on but that was rare.

At a minimum, ask for a teacher change. A bad teacher can really screw things up.

I've seen this too, especially AAP kids (many of whom have ADHD, ASD or EF issues).

An agenda or assignment book used to be commonly used but not anymore. I don't understand why not.

[Anonymous]

It’s complicated. I tried to be brief— then kept feeling the need to explain and it turned into a hot mess that’s hard to follow.

What’s done is done and honestly the background no longer matters.

1. Do schools tend to notify parents when an elementary students is not grasping concepts and falling behind?

2. If there are any professionals in this field- what do you appreciate from parents to handle these type of situations?

3. Has anyone else felt unsupported? What did you do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I totally disagree with PP. I’m an experienced special ed teacher. You need to put your concerns in writing to the principal and the principal’s supervisor. Include the guidance counselor. Give specific facts in bullet form with evidence if you have it, like copies of emails. You can tell the principal that you will need to contact your school board member. They hate that.

Sometimes there is a crappy teacher and everyone knows it, and principals are waiting for parent complaints and documentation to get rid of them.

Can she switch to another math teacher? Her emotional health is the main thing, and good for you for sticking up for your kid. This is not okay.

Thanks— There is just so much that has happened. She is the only AAP math teacher. I started asking she be switched out months ago.

I did reach out to a few parents tonight and they said they go to the home room teacher to navigate vs the math teacher. Unfortunately, the students aren’t the only avoiding this teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would move her out of APP if she's struggling that much. And, I'd ask for an IEP and do a private evaluation if you haven't to make sure it's done properly.

I think some teachers have unrealistic expectations of kids that age. In ES. they should have an assignment book. Our teachers always checked it and signed off for every child, not just SN kids. Better teachers would regularly send out group emails to let parents know what's going on but that was rare.

At a minimum, ask for a teacher change. A bad teacher can really screw things up.

I've seen this too, especially AAP kids (many of whom have ADHD, ASD or EF issues).

An agenda or assignment book used to be commonly used but not anymore. I don't understand why not.

Yeah— I encouraged DD to write things down and try to take notes. One day they were learning about fractions and she wanted to remember the rule. The teacher told her stop. It’s weird. Feedback is the lady is kinda quirky. Teacher has fought me on everything. I told DD to provide enough context so she remembers her assignments and teacher told her not to write that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s complicated. I tried to be brief— then kept feeling the need to explain and it turned into a hot mess that’s hard to follow.

What’s done is done and honestly the background no longer matters.

1. Do schools tend to notify parents when an elementary students is not grasping concepts and falling behind?

2. If there are any professionals in this field- what do you appreciate from parents to handle these type of situations?

3. Has anyone else felt unsupported? What did you do?

Well, if you're just giving up on trying to communicate clearly here, no wonder you aren't having success in communicating with the school.

1. They do, but it seems like they believe your daughter is not behind. So why would they need to notify you of anything?

2. I don't know, but clear communication would be my suggestion. Nobody can give you what you want if you can't explain what you want.

3. That's such a vague question it's hard to know how to answer. Sometimes you have to accept that you aren't going to get the level of support you think you should have. That's normal for public school, especially without an IEP. It sounds like you neen an IEP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would move her out of APP if she's struggling that much. And, I'd ask for an IEP and do a private evaluation if you haven't to make sure it's done properly.

I think some teachers have unrealistic expectations of kids that age. In ES. they should have an assignment book. Our teachers always checked it and signed off for every child, not just SN kids. Better teachers would regularly send out group emails to let parents know what's going on but that was rare.

At a minimum, ask for a teacher change. A bad teacher can really screw things up.

I've seen this too, especially AAP kids (many of whom have ADHD, ASD or EF issues).

An agenda or assignment book used to be commonly used but not anymore. I don't understand why not.

Yeah— I encouraged DD to write things down and try to take notes. One day they were learning about fractions and she wanted to remember the rule. The teacher told her stop. It’s weird. Feedback is the lady is kinda quirky. Teacher has fought me on everything. I told DD to provide enough context so she remembers her assignments and teacher told her not to write that.

She probably wanted your daughter to pay attention to something else at that time. She's not going to structure the whole class around your kid and have everyone wait while your daughter writes things down.

[Anonymous]

Why do you care so much about whether the school should have notified you? It seems like you're already convinced that she is behind, so what difference does it make whether they emailed you about it or not? Are you trying to prove that they dropped the ball? I don't see why it matters now.

[Anonymous]

You still haven't described what your daughter is "failing." Does she have actual bad, failing grades? Is she not finishing homework? Not finishing classwork? Getting problems wrong on tests? What is the actual problem?

What are the specific suggestions you've made that the teacher has rejected?

[Anonymous]

I have a kid with IEP since pre-k. I expect he can do advanced math at 4th grade once he is age qualified. He is not on medication yet, and I am freaked out that it seems not uncommon that kids suddenly get challenged or could not do well at school around 4th grade. Is there anything for 1st grader parents do or work on now to prevent that from happening that soon? Is the key problem organization skill? I think my kid grab all sorts of paper from school now daily, but there is no homework assignment yet.

[Anonymous]

Is she actually failing the class, like report card grades of an F (or the equivalent in your system's grading scale)?

It sounds like, based on the standardized test scores and her tutor's assessments, she's understanding the material and is working at or above grade level. So, if she really is literally failing, in spite of having a solid grasp of the mathematical concepts, you need to pinpoint which parts of her grades are bringing her down.

Is she not turning in assignments? Is she doing poorly on homework? Classwork? Is she failing tests? When she gets a problem wrong, is there a pattern to the mistakes she's making? I bet her tutor could help you pinpoint which types of mistakes she's making, and make a list for her of a few standard things to check when she finishes a problem (did she get her columns lined up correctly? did she multiply when the problem said to add?).

It sounds like you need to do your very best to lower the emotional tone—for both of you! It's hard for girls who are conditioned to be people-pleasers when they suddenly realize it doesn't always work, but she needs to know that's OK, it sometimes just happens, but she can still learn a lot from a teacher she doesn't really click with.

Try to stick to concrete and quantifiable things:
—What exactly is bringing her overall grade down?
—How can her tutor help her translate her successes in the tutoring sessions into the classroom?
—Which parts of her 504 plan are not being followed, and what are the steps for remedying that?
—Are her current 504 accommodations still enough to allow her to successfully access the curriculum, or does the plan need to be reassessed to add additional supports?

It's inevitable that your DD will find teachers she just doesn't click with in the course of her school career, but nothing you've described here really seems to be crossing any lines. But not following the 504 plan is technically illegal, so that's a really good concrete place to start. Whether she's literally failing, or just feeling overwhelmed and not doing as well as she could be, that 504 should still be followed as agreed upon. Others here have had some good suggestions about how to make sure that happens.

Try to set aside those vague complaints about things like "talking differently to [her]" or not liking your DD. When you talk to the administration, stick to what you can actually demonstrate, like preferred seating not being honored, not signing off on her assignment book each day, or whatever's specified in her plan.

[Anonymous]

I don't think you're going to get anywhere with "talking differently to her" complaints unless you can be more specific. When parents have a 504 or request other accommodations, often they *want* the teacher to talk differently to their child.

[Anonymous]

- I’m guessing the weight is based more on tests and things done in class because we check behind to make sure all assignments are completed/ reviewed/turned in on time. However, even with checking the planner sometimes the teacher will tell me she is missing assignments and her request doesn’t correlate with anything listed in the planner. The planner is to be reviewed and signed by teachers.

-Her errors tend to be inconsistent. For example she’s multiplying decimals just fine and then she starts the next problem. Simple errors, like 2 x3= 9 vs 6. Rushes through the directions. Sometimes she knows the answer and we can’t figure out why she wrote the answer she did.

- We had concerns. Navigating this 504 process is new. We had made some changes and the check-in was also a pulse check. It was how are things, any changes, anything we should be concerned about. While waiting we continued waiting we kept observing and trying new things. We hoped that no news was good news. However our observations were concerning—- we started working with the ADHD coach. We felt there would be value to know what’s happening day to day inside the classroom. Children tend to behave somewhat differently in different environments.

- There is something up. My focus is that she learns. The non-tangible items won’t be areas of focus. However, parents know their children. DD never complains. Never. She has had strict teachers. She has never complained. Not once. The first time she shared I told her people have different styles and the benefits. Teacher seemed very structured and we discussed how that would help DD. However DD’s comments weren’t tied to the teachers rules.

- Her feedback was specific to how she was being treated. She has always been articulate and an empath. She said she makes me feel like I don’t belong. This started the second week of school. She has refused to answer DD questions and when she does it’s in a demeaning to make it clear to not ask questions again. So now she isn’t grasping concepts and won’t ask questions.

- Within the first 7 days DD picked up that there was an issue and since then it’s just been downhill.

- A child who wants to learn doesn’t deserve this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:- I’m guessing the weight is based more on tests and things done in class because we check behind to make sure all assignments are completed/ reviewed/turned in on time. However, even with checking the planner sometimes the teacher will tell me she is missing assignments and her request doesn’t correlate with anything listed in the planner. The planner is to be reviewed and signed by teachers.

-Her errors tend to be inconsistent. For example she’s multiplying decimals just fine and then she starts the next problem. Simple errors, like 2 x3= 9 vs 6. Rushes through the directions. Sometimes she knows the answer and we can’t figure out why she wrote the answer she did.

- We had concerns. Navigating this 504 process is new. We had made some changes and the check-in was also a pulse check. It was how are things, any changes, anything we should be concerned about. While waiting we continued waiting we kept observing and trying new things. We hoped that no news was good news. However our observations were concerning—- we started working with the ADHD coach. We felt there would be value to know what’s happening day to day inside the classroom. Children tend to behave somewhat differently in different environments.

- There is something up. My focus is that she learns. The non-tangible items won’t be areas of focus. However, parents know their children. DD never complains. Never. She has had strict teachers. She has never complained. Not once. The first time she shared I told her people have different styles and the benefits. Teacher seemed very structured and we discussed how that would help DD. However DD’s comments weren’t tied to the teachers rules.

- Her feedback was specific to how she was being treated. She has always been articulate and an empath. She said she makes me feel like I don’t belong. This started the second week of school. She has refused to answer DD questions and when she does it’s in a demeaning to make it clear to not ask questions again. So now she isn’t grasping concepts and won’t ask questions.

- Within the first 7 days DD picked up that there was an issue and since then it’s just been downhill.

- A child who wants to learn doesn’t deserve this.

OP, you’re being exhausting. You don’t like the teacher. Your kid is 9, and I would trust her but also know she may not be understanding the situation accurately. Math may be hard for her. It is for many “bright” kids. It was for me. The errors sound like adhd. I don’t know how you want the teacher to slow her down in a mainstream classroom and take it slow. You want very personal attention. That’s not public school. I’d get out of AAP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:- I’m guessing the weight is based more on tests and things done in class because we check behind to make sure all assignments are completed/ reviewed/turned in on time. However, even with checking the planner sometimes the teacher will tell me she is missing assignments and her request doesn’t correlate with anything listed in the planner. The planner is to be reviewed and signed by teachers.

-Her errors tend to be inconsistent. For example she’s multiplying decimals just fine and then she starts the next problem. Simple errors, like 2 x3= 9 vs 6. Rushes through the directions. Sometimes she knows the answer and we can’t figure out why she wrote the answer she did.

- We had concerns. Navigating this 504 process is new. We had made some changes and the check-in was also a pulse check. It was how are things, any changes, anything we should be concerned about. While waiting we continued waiting we kept observing and trying new things. We hoped that no news was good news. However our observations were concerning—- we started working with the ADHD coach. We felt there would be value to know what’s happening day to day inside the classroom. Children tend to behave somewhat differently in different environments.

- There is something up. My focus is that she learns. The non-tangible items won’t be areas of focus. However, parents know their children. DD never complains. Never. She has had strict teachers. She has never complained. Not once. The first time she shared I told her people have different styles and the benefits. Teacher seemed very structured and we discussed how that would help DD. However DD’s comments weren’t tied to the teachers rules.

- Her feedback was specific to how she was being treated. She has always been articulate and an empath. She said she makes me feel like I don’t belong. This started the second week of school. She has refused to answer DD questions and when she does it’s in a demeaning to make it clear to not ask questions again. So now she isn’t grasping concepts and won’t ask questions.

- Within the first 7 days DD picked up that there was an issue and since then it’s just been downhill.

- A child who wants to learn doesn’t deserve this.

OP, I believe you and your DD that the teacher seems to either not like your DD in particular or not like kids in general. Some teachers are like that and I think they can be quite damaging for young children (I think the idea that young kids need to learn how to deal with difficult teachers is bs). It's the end of the first semester - do you think your DD should continue with this teacher and a tutor and just make it through the end of the year? Does your DD have friends in the class, is she overall understanding and learning the material (her standardized test scores seem to show this)? Or do you think you need to ask to have her moved to a different math class?