Teacher Selection by Parents?

[Anonymous]

What say (if any) do parents have in which classrooms their children are placed? I assume that parents have no say officially, but is there behind-the-scenes lobbying to get into the classes of the star teachers? Do these practices vary in DC, MD and VA? I don't have any specific need to do this -- just curious about how the system works.

[Anonymous]

You can always request a teacher by writing a polite letter to the principal and giving reasons why that teacher would be the best match for your child. But, if you are in any grade past K, they often group the kids by ability so they won't be putting a low kid with the high teacher no matter what you ask for.

[Anonymous]

I think it depends on the school. Each one seems to be different. I know at my daughter's private school -- the school said you couldn't request a specific teacher. But, we just couldn't stand one teacher who my daughter already had once. So, we asked for a change and got it.

[Anonymous]

So much goes into balancing by gender, ethnicity, academic track, previous teacher's recommendations for "best fit", etc. that schools discourage such letters. They know their strong teachers and they know everyone wants them. Depending on your school you could wind up looking very pushy. If you need to write a letter I would do it only in terms of mentioning things about your child that should be considered (special needs, etc) Don't suggest your desired teacher.

[Anonymous]

I can't find a link but wasn't there some research recently that said that differences between teachers were greater than differences between schools? And you can have a lousy teacher even in a supposedly "good" school, and a great teacher in an other wise lousey school.

I think parents should be encouraged to have a preference as to which teacher their children get -- and statistics should be kept on which teachers were most often requested, and unrequested. Teachers should have waitlists, just as some schools do. Part of teacher evaluation should include how many parents do NOT want them as a teacher for their child.

[Anonymous]

And before you ask, I'm the PP and I'm a teacher!

[Anonymous]

Depends on the school and the principal.

I know ours wouldn't take kindly to it (at least not from me). Principals generally don't react well to anything that reeks of "my child's special so he/she deserves more and better resources than the other kids."

I wouldn't suggest a teacher, but I have talked to the principal about the characteristics of my child and the characteristics I thought would be the best match for him. This seems to work. I have requested that he NOT be placed with a certain child, and this was honored.

[Anonymous]

I have talked to the principal about the characteristics of my child and the characteristics I thought would be the best match for him. This seems to work. I have requested that he NOT be placed with a certain child, and this was honored.

I've done this before as well. Our principal actually encourages parents to give her input about their child to help with teacher selection. And the PP who said that teacher is more important than school, I believe it. Our DD is challenging for various reasons and the difference both in how she is perceived and how she perceives school is incredibly different based on who her teacher has been.

[Anonymous]

Our son's school permits teacher requests in writing (to the head of school) but emphasizes that because of the need to balance classes for gender, personality, etc., there are no guarantees that requests will be honored. I think they do their best, however, especially if the parents donate or volunteer generously at the school.