So when do schools really make up class lists for the fall and how does it happen?

[Anonymous]

Any teachers or administrators on here who care to tell us the real truth as opposed to just supposition? I've heard it isn't done until August once the schools have a better idea of how many kids are registered. I've also heard that they work on it before the previous school year has even ended, but they just don't tell families until right before school starts.

DC is entering K in APS this fall and we know a few families who are requesting specific teachers. Some feel like they should wait, but others have already submitted requests and it has me curious how it actually happens. Is it random? Do the teachers sit down and divide the kids themselves, using certain criteria (especially for older grades where the kids are known quantities already)? Do requests from families actually matter?

[Anonymous]

At our school in APS, they start working on it before school ends. The principal sends out a whole email about the process. We are not allowed to request specific teachers, but you can talk to the principal about your child and their characteristics. I also know she will consider not putting kids together in the same class if there were issues with behavior, etc. That said, it all seems a little random to me. This year my son was in a class for 4th and about half the class had already been together with the same 3rd grade teacher the year before. The class was great and he had a good year, but I don't know how so many kids from one class (there are 4 total in the grade) were placed together. He was one of about 3 from his 3rd grade class. My kids never seem to be with many of their friends the next year which is sad, but they seem to adjust.

[Anonymous]

When I was a teacher, we got colored cards- blue for boys/pink for girls and we circled whether they were high/medium/low academically, then we circled information about behavior, noted if they were in special education, had any special needs, needed to be separated from another child, etc.
We turned in the cards and the administrators sorted them into however many classrooms there were of the next grade. So if there were 4 second grade classrooms they sorted them so every classroom would have an equal number of high/med/low kids with an equal number of behavior problems. One admin allowed parent requests and sorted those kids first, one principal didn't so it didn't matter. This was done at the end of the year but it sometimes got shifted over the summer depending on numbers.

[Anonymous]

I had an email today from an elementary public school we visited asking if we planned to enroll, as they are putting lists together now.

[Anonymous]

At our school, we are not allowed to request teachers or putting friends together, with the exception that they will consider a friend request for K only. K placement is based on the principal's visit to the incoming kids' preschools where she briefly observes the kids and talks with their preschool teachers. I've never had any info about what the specific process is for grades 1+.

[Anonymous]

I don't know about how it works in APS, but in our school (FCPS) the principal does consider a parental request to keep two kids separate if they have issues with each other (and that includes separating best friends who distract each other etc.). Parents were told quite specifically not to request specific teachers by name. I did write a letter one spring about my child's personality and how she would do better with one type of teacher than another, in hopes it would keep her from having a particular teacher as her "homeroom" teacher that fall, and it worked, or at least daughter didn't get that particular teacher -- can't ever say for sure if it was because of our request or not.

I know a parent who has requested a couple of times that her son not be placed in the next year's class with this or that boy, due to some ongoing issues of son being bullied, in one case (and yes, it was real, targeted and continuing bullying, not just "they don't get along") and in another case, due to the fact her son and his best buddy needed to be separated so they didn't egg each other on in class. Each time it was honored; however, be sure to check class lists in the fall as soon as they are posted, before school starts, if your school does that. One year the friend found her son was in a class with the kid who was the bully and she immediately went to the office and got that changed a day or two before classes started. It was fortunate she'd seen the list a little in advance or the school might have been balkier about changing class lists once the year began.

[Anonymous]

Teacher in MD here. We do our lists as a grade level team at the end of the year before we leave for summer. The admins assign teachers to those groups over the summer.

[Anonymous]

FCPS teacher. The classroom teachers meet at each grade level in June and place the students into classes for the next year. Taken into consideration are kids who need to be apart, creating equally balanced classes, teachers' previous experience with parents, and parent requests regarding learning environment and style. Classes may change slightly over summer if kids are registered or leave. Teams may have to reassign if numbers change such that the number of rising grade classes changes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teacher in MD here. We do our lists as a grade level team at the end of the year before we leave for summer. The admins assign teachers to those groups over the summer.

While our school will not place students based on requests, they do ask us to fill out a profile of our child which helps to match him/her up with a teacher.

[Anonymous]

Our principal will actually take a teacher request (although it's not guaranteed). They do the class list first in June. For Kindergarten, they try to gather some data from the forms you fill out, and then from any orientation you attend with your child. They'll also look at any requests you made for teaching style, actual teacher, together with friends, etc. However, the lists gets changed around several times as more kids register and others move, right up to the day before classes, so they don't usually release any information in case they have to make a last minute change. It's especially hard in very diverse schools, because they try to balance not only girl and boy, but also to make each class diverse, and yet they try to not have any child be the only one of their ethnic group in the class. A lot goes into it and depending on the school and the population and how early people register, it can get pretty confusing.

Make requests in June or as early as possible.

[Anonymous]

This is our second year in MCPS. Our principal just sent out a letter saying that the class lists for the incoming school year have been already decided and no changes will be made. It makes me curious if she has received too many requests or queries.

[Anonymous]

We're at ATS (APS), which won't have new kids enrolling unless a kid unexpectedly transfers out over the summer. I get the impression the class lists have already been decided, or are close to done, but names of teachers won't be shared with families until right before school starts. They try to avoid people jockeying to get a "better" teacher or avoid one particular one. (the principal sent out a note basically saying that last part.)

We didn't request a particular teacher for K, and didn't for next year. I actually have no idea what the 1st grade teachers' names are. I asked my friends not to give me their impressions of the K teachers before we started - I wanted to form my own impressions. We were really happy with our teacher.

[Anonymous]

PP lots of jockeying goes on at ATS......parents request for specific teachers all the time. Families with siblings will get the teacher the older sibling had unless the family requests a change. Make sure you advocate for your kid. Especially in the upper grades (3rd -5th) We did not ask and I regret it now! 1st grade team is strong and the Kindergarten team is spectacular.....just keep in mind ----if you have a preference make it known to your current teacher and to the Administration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teacher in MD here. We do our lists as a grade level team at the end of the year before we leave for summer. The admins assign teachers to those groups over the summer.

This has been explained to me as how it is done at my kids's MCPS. It doesn't make sense to me, though. Wouldn't it make more sense to pair student with a specific teacher, ie, if a child needs a very organized teacher, or one who relates using humor, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher in MD here. We do our lists as a grade level team at the end of the year before we leave for summer. The admins assign teachers to those groups over the summer.

This has been explained to me as how it is done at my kids's MCPS. It doesn't make sense to me, though. Wouldn't it make more sense to pair student with a specific teacher, ie, if a child needs a very organized teacher, or one who relates using humor, etc.

This is the public school system. What makes sense has nothing to do with it. Lol. Yes, it makes sense to me to match teachers with students but that is not how our admin sees it. Who knows? Maybe they can't deal with all of the parent requests so they just don't deal with them this way.