Worked my butt off in the PTA and my son is in a "weaker" classroom

[Anonymous]

There was no deal. You are awful.

[Anonymous]

Let me get this straight. You view PTA volunteers as having some sort of "deal" wherein their children get the better classrooms and teachers?

Wow. So, working parents who can't do PTA just have to put up with the bad classrooms.

[Anonymous]

So the world doesn't owe you anything because you did a good deed by sending your child to a title one school and volunteer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let me get this straight. You view PTA volunteers as having some sort of "deal" wherein their children get the better classrooms and teachers?

Wow. So, working parents who can't do PTA just have to put up with the bad classrooms.

Yup, that's pretty much what OP is saying. Charming, isn't she?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There was no deal. You are awful.

+1

I can't stand parents like the OP hovering around school with the expectation that their "volunteer work" will bring special favors: these types of parent are incredibly transparent in their motives. This is the type of parent who uses her "volunteer" time to identify the special needs kids, then gossips about them with other parents, and insists her snowflake be placed somewhere far away from the kids she deems undesirable classmates. It is sick.

In the past, I have been very vocal about insisting that children of these types of parent are NOT in my class. I was recently told that a certain mother had gone to the principal to request her child be placed in my class for next year, and I pleaded with the principal to put the kid somewhere else (because I do not want to deal with the mother).

OP, it is possible that you have a reputation among teachers, and the "stronger" teacher, who has some leverage with the principal because there are many parents who want their kid in her class, does not want to deal with you and your meddling. Er, "volunteering." She does not want to deal with you and your volunteering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So you "volunteered" because you thought it would curry you favors with the principal with class placement? If you'd just stuck to sharing about how frustrated you were that your communicated request for separating your child from another wasn't met, I would have offered some helpful advice. But you had to throw in the part about expecting some preferential treatment because you volunteered.

You're an idiot, OP. You fail to see how your kid will be fine, even with some kids who learn differently. Even worse, though, is that you're an entitled idiot. Please stay in MD.

-Principal of a Title 1 school in Fairfax

To be fair this principal doesn't get it cause title one schools don't have ptas

[Anonymous]

I think your complaint about your child still being put in a class with a specific child there was an issue with is legitimate and your observations about class placement could have merit. It takes a smart, involved principal who listens to good teachers to get class placements right.

However, this has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not you volunteer. That part of your post is really despicable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am one of the few MC parents in a title 1 school. Worked my butt off on the PTA board for 2 years, plus classroom volunteering, plus working directly with principal to organize events for the school.
Part of the deal as I saw it was that my son was in a stronger teacher's class last year, plus a stronger and better peer group in his class. He almost always got into free enrichment activities where there was a lottery, which I also saw as part of the deal (never was stated by anyone openly but I was even asked for a preference for a summer program).
Last year, I was asked about the preferences for my son's classroom placement, which I stated (3 of them: teacher, best friend, avoiding one other child). Well I saw the class lists today and I got ZERO of my requests fulfilled. I am fine with either teacher, I am more or less ok that his good friend is not with him, but there is a boy I specifically told the school my son had some run ins with and who is just plain disruptive and physically aggressive, and he is in my son's class. Also, I can see that his class is just weaker than the other one. Two kids who were held back a grade, one borderline special needs slow learner, and only one strong student besides him.
I am just so disappointed. I tried to stay loyal to the neighborhood school, tried to make it better, but now I am just tempted to transfer the kid to a more decent school a bit further away. I am drastically scaling down my PTA involvement this year for sure, and looking into other school options.

There is no quid pro quo. Your assumptions were false. You should consider moving or private school.

[Anonymous]

Uh you and your kid should not be getting favors because you volunteer for the school.

[Anonymous]

They like to put struggling and high-achieving kids together because the strong students can be peer models and help the weaker students. Also, they are always striving for a balance in each class - not just academically, but with IEP kids, ESOL kids, outgoing kids, shy kids, etc.

However, you have the right to speak to them about the aggressive child in your child's class - that's something that should have been addressed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So you "volunteered" because you thought it would curry you favors with the principal with class placement? If you'd just stuck to sharing about how frustrated you were that your communicated request for separating your child from another wasn't met, I would have offered some helpful advice. But you had to throw in the part about expecting some preferential treatment because you volunteered.

You're an idiot, OP. You fail to see how your kid will be fine, even with some kids who learn differently. Even worse, though, is that you're an entitled idiot. Please stay in MD.

-Principal of a Title 1 school in Fairfax

To be fair this principal doesn't get it cause title one schools don't have ptas

NP. I taught at a title one school in Arlington with a PTA. Primarily four or so very active stay at home moms. They got their choice of teachers and activities and strutted around the school like they were members of congress.

[Anonymous]

PTA involvement and programs do very little in a poor performing school

When there are so many poor performing students it's hard to spread the average and above average kids fairly. No matter what class, there is always going to be too many behind and disruptive kids.

Th reality is that many parents figure this out once their kids have been in such a school for a few years and they move.

[Anonymous]

The sense of entitlement is bizarre. But not uncommon.

[Anonymous]

If it had worked, I hope your admin was investigated for ethics violations.

How would such a system be fair to parents who can't volunteer due to working two jobs or having a serious health issue? See this is how a few parents try to turn public schools into private ones by chipping clear levels into an already uneven playing field.

I see it as a teacher all the time. So glad my principal is immune. She came from a country where influence was curried with way more finess and bribes bought country estates not lunch at Panera.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was no deal. You are awful.

+1

I can't stand parents like the OP hovering around school with the expectation that their "volunteer work" will bring special favors: these types of parent are incredibly transparent in their motives. This is the type of parent who uses her "volunteer" time to identify the special needs kids, then gossips about them with other parents, and insists her snowflake be placed somewhere far away from the kids she deems undesirable classmates. It is sick.

In the past, I have been very vocal about insisting that children of these types of parent are NOT in my class. I was recently told that a certain mother had gone to the principal to request her child be placed in my class for next year, and I pleaded with the principal to put the kid somewhere else (because I do not want to deal with the mother).

OP, it is possible that you have a reputation among teachers, and the "stronger" teacher, who has some leverage with the principal because there are many parents who want their kid in her class, does not want to deal with you and your meddling. Er, "volunteering." She does not want to deal with you and your volunteering.

Thank you. Our SN child was targeted by queen bee PTA moms and it was incredibly scary and disruptive (and made figuring out the situation much harder). I realized that most teachers are more like you, though.