Classroom observations in Fairfax County Public Schools

[Anonymous]

I'd been hoping to observe a K and 1st Grade classroom in our local FCPS but was told that this would not be possible, as it would cause too much disruption. Have any of you managed to do this, or is this a county-wide policy? For what it's worth, our kids are still in preschool, and we're deciding whether to send them to the local public school. Thank you for any insights!

[Anonymous]

OP, I am very surprised that the local school would not let you step inside an ongoing classroom for a short visit and observation. Attending an open house or curriculum night event does not come close to providing information on how a classroom operates, what type of relationships exist between the teacher(s) and children, and so forth. Did you make your request to the Principal of your local school? I understand the concern of too many parents doing this type of visit, but I do not think it bodes well for future communication and interaction with the school. Do they only welcome parent involvement when they want you to help them sell wrapping paper or do they also welcome parents into the classroom to see what a typical day consists of for your child??? Strange.

[Anonymous]

Have you tried to schedule a tour? Sometimes on a school tour (not in Fairfax) I've been invited to peek in and watch a class.

[Anonymous]

As a teacher, I can see how this would be disruptive, especially in elementary school where there may be only one or two classes for each grade. If the school let any potential parent/student visit that would be a lot of interruptions to the class. It may be only you who is asking to visit, but it could potentially be many more. For this reason, I understand the school having a policy of no observations. That said, they should probably have one or two days where everyone could visit. It may not give as "real" an experience as showing up without the teacher knowing, but at least you would get to see the classroom in action.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Yes, I'm somewhat disheartened by the school's stance. I guess my expectations of a school's openness to potential school parents are based on what I experienced while researching preschools.. While I understand the concern about the presence of observers disrupting classrooms, I never felt this was a problem when I observed a number of preschools, where I would expect kids to be even more easily distracted. Unfortunately this lack of openness makes me wary of sending our kids to this school, even though it has excellent test scores and feeds into one of the best high schools (defined by test scores) in the county. As a PP pointed out, this attitude doesn't bode well for flexibility down the line..

[Anonymous]

OP again. Yes, I have scheduled a tour, but, as per the school's policy, this will take place at a time when the kids have already left for the day. I fear this won't be exactly helpful in learning about the teaching style (I really couldn't care less about the number of swings on the school playground)..

[Anonymous]

I have asked to observe a class (for 2 hours) at three public schools in Prince George's County and was welcome at each one; they judt wanted advance notice which I felt was reasonable. I was a prospective parent for each -- that is, my child was one year away from possibly entering the school and it was the school the child could possibly attend (either the neighborhood school or a "magnet of some kind.)

When I taught in Fairfax County years ago, our elementary school also welcomed parents. The PTA would organize tours every few weeks or on request, I think -- and the tour included a visit to a few classrooms, but I don't think you could definitely stay as long as you wanted or anything like that.

Perhaps you could write the school princiapl (with a cc to the assistant superintendant) and explain that you are interesting in learning more about the classroom climate and general teaching style of the school's teachers. And as a visit when class is in session isn't allowed, what other ways does the principal suggest for you to get this information to help you in making this important decision for your chld's education?

[Anonymous]

Yes, I was able to observe a class for 1/2 hr. It was absolutely not disruptive to the class. About five kids noticed me and then looked away. Not one child approached me. Not one child gave me a second glance.

Honestly, I think it causes more of a disruption for teachers who feel pressured to behave well when someone is watching.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you for the helpful replies! I will definitely follow up as per the suggestion by the 17:11 poster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I was able to observe a class for 1/2 hr. It was absolutely not disruptive to the class. About five kids noticed me and then looked away. Not one child approached me. Not one child gave me a second glance.

Honestly, I think it causes more of a disruption for teachers who feel pressured to behave well when someone is watching.

I understand wanting to observe in a classroom before making a choice. But remember that public schools are still a bit in the dark ages about school choice. It is a relatively new thing to be able to "choose" a public school. Kids used to go to the neighborhood school, end of story. As for parents visiting prospective schools, the county might not have a policy about this. Ask the principal if they do or not. Also, remember that these are public schools so they don't really care whether or not you choose them. And if everyone asked to observe at every school they were interested in, things would get pretty hectic.

[Anonymous]

Does the school in question have an Open House/Welcome presentation for prospective K students/parents? My local school does this in the spring - parents and kids are invited for a short presentation by the principal and vice principal and each of the K teachers spoke on various topics and you could see the classrooms/library, etc.. In my opinion, their general personality/teaching style came through during their presentation. You could call the school(s) and ask if/when the Open House will be held. I hope this makes sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:


I understand wanting to observe in a classroom before making a choice. But remember that public schools are still a bit in the dark ages about school choice. It is a relatively new thing to be able to "choose" a public school. Kids used to go to the neighborhood school, end of story. As for parents visiting prospective schools, the county might not have a policy about this. Ask the principal if they do or not. Also, remember that these are public schools so they don't really care whether or not you choose them. And if everyone asked to observe at every school they were interested in, things would get pretty hectic.

Heh -- I think that's the real key here. It doesn't have much to do with disruption.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure that it's true the public schools don't care. Don't they get a certain dollar amount per student in attendance? So if enrollment gets low, that might hurt their budgets. In our neighborhood, only about 50 percent of the kids go into the local elementary. When parents learn this via neighborhood chit chat, they assume there must be a real problem at the public school and do little of their own research to verify it. So the low enrollment takes on a self-fulfilling life of its own. It is hard to imagine the local school principal would not care about this as it would be tough on teacher morale, if nothing else.

[Anonymous]

The school budget is usually per pupil. So I don't think the principal would care too much if somebody chose another school over theirs. Trust me. They have more important things to care about. It doesn't make too much of a difference if there are 20 kids in a classroom rather than 21. The only time the numbers impact the school is if they are so low that they decide to close the school and transfer everyone (that doesn't often happen). On the other end, it makes a difference if there are too many kids per grade b/c then they need to hire another teacher, might need portable classrooms. Just think of the public schools like the Top 3 schools. There will always be kids and parents wanting to go to them. The difference is that the public schools have to take everyone.