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

[Anonymous]

Perhaps this is why the other MC parents have moved west.

[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.

this is why I hate SAHM at school. Schools should be a PARENT FREE ZONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[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

Principal here: We do. I just met with our president on Wednesday. I'm pretty sure I didn't imagine it. She would be equally appalled by OP's post.

[Anonymous]

Schools usually honor requests to avoid another child, so you can ask why this request was not honored.

However for all the rest, shame on you, OP!

What you expected was highly unethical and immoral.

I have been on the PTA Board for years, and would not tolerate it if my child received favors as a result. That is NOT why I volunteer.
I want to help all the students, not my children in particular.

And as the parent of a child with special needs, I find your remark about the slow learner particularly offensive. At our MCPS school, children with special needs do not slow down the rest of the class - they have aides in the classroom, who help others as well as the child in question, so it's actually a bonus for everyone.

You are a disgusting human being.

[Anonymous]

Does everyone believe the OP is for real? I wonder if its just a bored parent trying to get everyone riled up before school starts again in a few weeks...?

[Anonymous]

I can't understand why would school ever ask you which class your kid wants to be in. On top of it, you sound like a pain that teachers want to avoid. No teachers wants a parents in the class that much, it is disruptive and your being there is clearly to single out weaker kids and teachers. Your kid must be dreading having his mom in the school non stop. The only deal here is that you need medication.

[Anonymous]

For those of you who want your kids in classrooms free of children your kids may have conflict with, what do you expect them to do when they get older? You aren't doing them any favors.

[Anonymous]

OP you sound as bad as my coworker who is buying tons of school supplies for her kid full on expecting the classroom teacher and special ed teachers to "pay extra attention" to her kid. Disgusting.

[Anonymous]

We do not have our class assignments yet for the upcoming school year (DD will be in 4th). Like your child, my child has so far always been in the strongest classroom. She has also a 100% selection rate for all programs at the school that involve a lottery. The lotteries could be legitimate and she's just very lucky. I rarely volunteer at school at school, and then only for school-wide events. I am NOT in the queen bee mom group. I do always make sure my kid is prepared with the appropriate supplies and always contribute to extra supplies that are needed ( like after winter break when all the tissues and Clorox wipes are gone).

This is what I do do:

I don't make special requests.
I am friendly to every person I come across in the school.
I do not ever assist on her projects besides providing supplies. So when you see all of the projects hung up outside the classroom it is very clear that my daughter is one of the few who did it 100% on her own.
My daughter is polite and friendly and I swear every single person in the large school knows her name. She is also not a queen bee girl and plays with everyone. She purposely pics of the kids who get left out of things and plays with them at recess, or sits by them at lunch. She loves to participate in school events and always has the silly shirt, hat or a funny hairstyle


Do you see the difference OP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I volunteer all the time. I don't ever do it expecting to get favors or preferential treatment for my kids. While, I can see where any parent would be concerned about a classroom placement with a peer that had been specifically targeting their child, I think your comment about the weaker class is pretty harsh. I wonder if your request was ignored because you seem high maintenance.

+1
Drop the entitlement

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Schools usually honor requests to avoid another child, so you can ask why this request was not honored.

However for all the rest, shame on you, OP!

What you expected was highly unethical and immoral.

I have been on the PTA Board for years, and would not tolerate it if my child received favors as a result. That is NOT why I volunteer.
I want to help all the students, not my children in particular.

And as the parent of a child with special needs, I find your remark about the slow learner particularly offensive. At our MCPS school, children with special needs do not slow down the rest of the class - they have aides in the classroom, who help others as well as the child in question, so it's actually a bonus for everyone.

You are a disgusting human being.

I agree with you that OP's request was improper. But you have unrealistically rose colored glasses in claiming special needs students don't slow down the class and actually benefit others because of aides. In truth, it is a mixed bag and depends on a lot of factors, including the SN kid(s) and the aide(s). I've had circumstances where there have been frequent, significant disruptions and others with few disruptions and the aides were able and willing to help other kids.

I am not suggesting the SN kid shouldn't be in the class or get extra help, but that extra help does sometimes come at the expense of other kids and the pace of the class. Pretending otherwise doesn't help anyone.

Also, remember not all SN kids have aides, exacerbating the problems and taking away some of the potential benefit.

[Anonymous]

Those assuming that OP is In mCps, MC in hernpost is "middle class" not "Montgomery County." But hisbis such an extreme post that it seems likely it is a troll.

[Anonymous]

I'm surprised that there is a DC area school that has only 2 teachers for an entire grade of kids.

Op's child could have gotten Teacher A or Teacher B. 50/50 chance for either teacher and, yet, Op is somehow feeling "wronged" because her kid got Teacher B instead of Teacher A. That does seem really, really high maintenance.....

It also sounds as though Op was hoping to engineer a "good" class Vs a "bad" class with some of the requests that she made. That's a shame.

[Anonymous]

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.

not clear on this

transfer to another PS in MCPS or to a private?

COSAs are a whole different ballgame. No one honors transfer requests from parents b/c they're unhappy with a teacher and/or classroom setting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

Principal here: We do. I just met with our president on Wednesday. I'm pretty sure I didn't imagine it. She would be equally appalled by OP's post.

I think the Principal is right. If I remember correctly from the Title 1 school we used to be at, they usually have PTOs because PTOs don't require mandator dues and are not part of a national organization, whereas PTAs are and are usually at higher SES schools. Is this right?