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Turnover @ Lowell???
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Anonymous
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"Too much is asked of teachers with too little support. Teachers are being put in impossible situations."
Truly, just out of curiosity, could you give an example (hypothetical is fine) of what you mean by this? |
Anonymous
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I'm not well versed on Lowell but as a teacher, I can empathize with that situation. Some hypotheticals as to what that might look like include:
1- Having students with special needs that the teacher is not qualified to support and insufficient support from the resource team 2- Having professional demands outside the classroom (progress reports, newsletters, meetings, professional development) without adequate time built in to complete these. Obviously, a teacher's days don't end at 3 just because the kids go home, but some schools put teachers in positions where they are working 14 hour days. 3- Too many/too varied needs in a given classroom. Some schools accept too many students with high needs, even if they aren't diagnosed special needs. Because they are not diagnosed, special needs trained teachers are not deemed necessary, but the load being given to regular ed teachers outstrips their abilities. Again, absent sufficient support from admin and support staff, this is an untenable situation. |
Anonymous
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OK, PP who gave the examples, none of those seem to me to apply to Lowell at all.
First, the kids are not special needs kids or high need kids in any significant numbers and to the extent kids do turn out to have needs such as reading issues, etc. that are beyond the capability of the school those kids are counseled to go to appropriate schools (most commonly to Lab School or public school programs that would meet their needs). The fact that almost all of the kids coming out of Lowell either at 6th grade or earlier switch to private schools with demanding admissions processes would belie this idea that there are special needs kids that teachers have to deal with. As for #2, I have never heard this and in fact the teachers have lots of time allotted to complete their professional demands, including early dismissals on Wednesdays, and time when the kids are in their multiple specials classes every day. So, I don't see this as being an issue at all from what I can tell. |
Anonymous
| As I said, I don't know the specifics at Lowell, but was offering possible scenarios for why that might be the case. I made no statement assigning them specifically to Lowell. Whether they are true there or not, I don't know. My empathy was with the feeling of not being put in a situation to succeed as a teacher by the administration, which is what that poster was indicating was the case at Lowell and the rationale for some teachers leaving. |
Anonymous
| As a Lowell parent who does not have a special needs kid but nonetheless has a kid with some needs, I will say that the school does seem ill-equipped to support all students/families. For a school of over 300 kids, they have one learning specialist and one counselor. I have had to wait weeks and months for opportunities to meet with these folks because of how busy they are. I don't know if the needs of Lowell's students are normal or not, but the support pieces in place seem ill-equipped. |
Anonymous
| Can anyone confirm the PP's experiences??? |
Anonymous
| I am a parent at Lowell and I have had no trouble getting my child time with the counselor when needed. I don't have experience scheduling time with the learning specialist, but in addition to her there are several reading specialists, and a math specialist. Also, a friend did have a child with a lot of needs and seemed to get these meetings regularly and easily. If I was having trouble I would go straight to the head who can get you on her schedule within a day or two unusually in my experience. |
Anonymous
| Also a current Lowell parent (who's been there for quite a few years), I'm not boosting and in the interest of full disclosure, my child does not have special needs. Having said this, we have needed to speak with teachers/specialists/the head and scheduling has always been relatively easy. Teachers are also very responsive and available to discuss any concerns you may have about your child's experience. It is one of the things that I have always loved about the school. |
Anonymous
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PPs-
Are you in primary or pre-primary? Maybe that is part of it. |
Anonymous
| I am 16:51 and my kid has been in Primary for the last few years (under both heads). When we were in PP I thought that we were kind of second-class citizens. It got much better in Primary. |
Anonymous
| I'm the other PP - I've been in primary and PP under both heads. While I have had my challenges, this hasn't been one of them (in either Primary or PP). Perhaps my success in this area is linked to my approach as these can be delicate situations (i.e. it's easier to catch flies with honey than vinegar). |
Anonymous
Three comments: 1-@16:57 describes the situation accurately. 2-administration is quick to assume negative comments are justified and criticize staff without gathering facts and opinions from all involved. 3-praise is seldom given, and as parents and teachers are aware--a little goes a long way. |
Anonymous
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Current Lowell Parent and was informed on Monday that another K Teacher is departing Lowell this year. That makes
1 teacher in PP 1 teacher in JK 2 teachers in K 2 teachers in 2nd 1 teacher in 4th 1 teacher in 5th 1 PE teacher 3 Aquatics Instructors 1 Asst. Head of School 1 Tech teacher I think that's about 14 Faculty members, haven't included Admin that has left also. However, the teachers that are leaving are lead teachers, I am very worried. |
Anonymous
Yes and and they are not the only ones... |
Anonymous
| Current Lowelll parent and I find that there are way too many special needs kids in the classroom. It takes away teacher time because they have to re-direct, discipline and teach one on one to these children. It is really frustrating when your child is bright and well behaved. We are thinking of leaving and just losing the tutition that we are bound to pay for the year. Our public which isn't that great is probably better for a non-special needs child. |