What you saw was definitely amplified by the Valentine’s party. But it’s probably a daily reality for the teacher. I really feel for her in that moment when all the parents were watching and their impression was that she was unable to control them. I have been in that position with parents watching and the truth is that the degree of raising my voice and imposing consequences that would be required to shut down a room of 3rd grade chaos would just not have been acceptable to visiting parents. In that case, the parents would have come out complaining that the teacher was mean and frightening. It’s a no win situation. There is no teacher masterful enough to impose control on 15 hyped up 8-year-old boys.

Anonymous wrote:I am not a McPS staffer, just a parent, but have heard that in my kids’ elementary school, they tend to cluster a lot of the kids with IEPs in the same class rather than distributing them evenly because it’s easier to provide similar extra resources (like extra paras to deal with special needs or extra reading specialists for dyslexia or whatever) if more kids with those needs are in one class.

My kid (who doesn’t have an IEP) was in one of the classes that seemed to have a lot of special needs kids last year, but not this year.

I definitely get fewer reports of kid misbehavior/meltdowns this year. But the paraprofessionals who helped my kid’s class last year (even the ones without special needs) don’t come to my kid’s class this year-it’s just the teacher. So there are tradeoffs. Kids with more needs bring more resources to the classroom that can benefit all the kids in that class.

Don’t judge your kids’ school by one class party.

Our Es put all the kids with ieps regardless of need in one class and slowed down academics. It was a hot mess. We had to fight to get our child out the next year. My kid got ignored and bullied that year. They kept getting hit by one kid and the principal got made and held them in the office for days without telling me after they hit back being fed up being a punching bag.

Ask for a classroom change.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not a McPS staffer, just a parent, but have heard that in my kids’ elementary school, they tend to cluster a lot of the kids with IEPs in the same class rather than distributing them evenly because it’s easier to provide similar extra resources (like extra paras to deal with special needs or extra reading specialists for dyslexia or whatever) if more kids with those needs are in one class.

My kid (who doesn’t have an IEP) was in one of the classes that seemed to have a lot of special needs kids last year, but not this year.

I definitely get fewer reports of kid misbehavior/meltdowns this year. But the paraprofessionals who helped my kid’s class last year (even the ones without special needs) don’t come to my kid’s class this year-it’s just the teacher. So there are tradeoffs. Kids with more needs bring more resources to the classroom that can benefit all the kids in that class.

Don’t judge your kids’ school by one class party.

The paras are doing nothing besides chasing or following around the most disruptive child and repeatedly telling people to sit down. My child doesn’t benefit from their presence in any way at all and it adds to the noise.

I should have mentioned in my OP that this is my 3rd time in this classroom and they have all been bad. One student only spends part of the day in the class (he is in a special program) and was not there for the first occasion and really added to the craziness today. I’m sure it was worse than usual because of the party but there’s no chance things are going well the rest of the time. I have heard reports teachers of older grades are already dreading this cohort.

Is your ES so small there's only 1 class per grade?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not a McPS staffer, just a parent, but have heard that in my kids’ elementary school, they tend to cluster a lot of the kids with IEPs in the same class rather than distributing them evenly because it’s easier to provide similar extra resources (like extra paras to deal with special needs or extra reading specialists for dyslexia or whatever) if more kids with those needs are in one class.

My kid (who doesn’t have an IEP) was in one of the classes that seemed to have a lot of special needs kids last year, but not this year.

I definitely get fewer reports of kid misbehavior/meltdowns this year. But the paraprofessionals who helped my kid’s class last year (even the ones without special needs) don’t come to my kid’s class this year-it’s just the teacher. So there are tradeoffs. Kids with more needs bring more resources to the classroom that can benefit all the kids in that class.

Don’t judge your kids’ school by one class party.

The paras are doing nothing besides chasing or following around the most disruptive child and repeatedly telling people to sit down. My child doesn’t benefit from their presence in any way at all and it adds to the noise.

I should have mentioned in my OP that this is my 3rd time in this classroom and they have all been bad. One student only spends part of the day in the class (he is in a special program) and was not there for the first occasion and really added to the craziness today. I’m sure it was worse than usual because of the party but there’s no chance things are going well the rest of the time. I have heard reports teachers of older grades are already dreading this cohort.

Have your other times been "fly on the wall" type observing of regular class time? If not (and honestly even if so-- but certainly especially not if you're having it on special events) you can't assume that the paras are unhelpful.

+1. I would doubt anyone who would say paras are doing nothing but helping with a single kid. My kid has no special needs but has told me about the time Ms so and so helped with XYZ. That’s what adults do when they see a kid who needs a hand.

Any extra adult in the classroom is a help to the teacher.

I wonder if you are thinking of special education teachers or resource teachers helping out at recess. That’s not what is happening here. These paras are literally bodyguards focused on the child they are responsible for keeping in the classroom. I am a believer in education for every child but pretending that my kid is actually benefiting from two massively disruptive children because they result in another adult body in the classroom is just ridiculous.

I think if we could convince the administration to add another class next year it might help some, to split up the challenging kids a bit more and also just let the teachers have to split their attention a little less. Has anyone ever successfully advocated for that?

My kids' school has 1 special ed teacher. She's not in every classroom. I'm surprised you're so insistent that you know how every paraprofessional in MCPS acts. You're not correct, at least not at my kid's school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The unfortunate truth is one single kid can absolutely ruin the learning of an entire class for the year. So can a handful of hard to manage kids. And there's no guarantee that that kid or other kids won't be a problem next year.

Private schools typically offer a less likelihood of this since they can give consequences the public school can not.

So, if you have the means, it may be something to consider, especially during elementary where it is one class. Middle and high school can still have these type of issues, but at least your child's not likely to be stuck in one class all day with a student who impedes everyone's learning.

Yea. Solid choice since private schools don’t have to let in those terrible IEP and special needs kids 🙄

Private schools can vary the same way public schools can vary. The top DMV area public schools have more resources and can be selective about who they admit. I would argue that several of less selective privates have more kids with special needs that aren't being met by public schools, but whose parents can afford to try to put them elsewhere.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not a McPS staffer, just a parent, but have heard that in my kids’ elementary school, they tend to cluster a lot of the kids with IEPs in the same class rather than distributing them evenly because it’s easier to provide similar extra resources (like extra paras to deal with special needs or extra reading specialists for dyslexia or whatever) if more kids with those needs are in one class.

My kid (who doesn’t have an IEP) was in one of the classes that seemed to have a lot of special needs kids last year, but not this year.

I definitely get fewer reports of kid misbehavior/meltdowns this year. But the paraprofessionals who helped my kid’s class last year (even the ones without special needs) don’t come to my kid’s class this year-it’s just the teacher. So there are tradeoffs. Kids with more needs bring more resources to the classroom that can benefit all the kids in that class.

Don’t judge your kids’ school by one class party.

The paras are doing nothing besides chasing or following around the most disruptive child and repeatedly telling people to sit down. My child doesn’t benefit from their presence in any way at all and it adds to the noise.

I should have mentioned in my OP that this is my 3rd time in this classroom and they have all been bad. One student only spends part of the day in the class (he is in a special program) and was not there for the first occasion and really added to the craziness today. I’m sure it was worse than usual because of the party but there’s no chance things are going well the rest of the time. I have heard reports teachers of older grades are already dreading this cohort.

Have your other times been "fly on the wall" type observing of regular class time? If not (and honestly even if so-- but certainly especially not if you're having it on special events) you can't assume that the paras are unhelpful.

+1. I would doubt anyone who would say paras are doing nothing but helping with a single kid. My kid has no special needs but has told me about the time Ms so and so helped with XYZ. That’s what adults do when they see a kid who needs a hand.

Any extra adult in the classroom is a help to the teacher.

I wonder if you are thinking of special education teachers or resource teachers helping out at recess. That’s not what is happening here. These paras are literally bodyguards focused on the child they are responsible for keeping in the classroom. I am a believer in education for every child but pretending that my kid is actually benefiting from two massively disruptive children because they result in another adult body in the classroom is just ridiculous.

I think if we could convince the administration to add another class next year it might help some, to split up the challenging kids a bit more and also just let the teachers have to split their attention a little less. Has anyone ever successfully advocated for that?

Anonymous wrote:The unfortunate truth is one single kid can absolutely ruin the learning of an entire class for the year. So can a handful of hard to manage kids. And there's no guarantee that that kid or other kids won't be a problem next year.

Private schools typically offer a less likelihood of this since they can give consequences the public school can not.

So, if you have the means, it may be something to consider, especially during elementary where it is one class. Middle and high school can still have these type of issues, but at least your child's not likely to be stuck in one class all day with a student who impedes everyone's learning.

Yea. Solid choice since private schools don’t have to let in those terrible IEP and special needs kids 🙄

The unfortunate truth is one single kid can absolutely ruin the learning of an entire class for the year. So can a handful of hard to manage kids. And there's no guarantee that that kid or other kids won't be a problem next year.

Private schools typically offer a less likelihood of this since they can give consequences the public school can not.

So, if you have the means, it may be something to consider, especially during elementary where it is one class. Middle and high school can still have these type of issues, but at least your child's not likely to be stuck in one class all day with a student who impedes everyone's learning.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not a McPS staffer, just a parent, but have heard that in my kids’ elementary school, they tend to cluster a lot of the kids with IEPs in the same class rather than distributing them evenly because it’s easier to provide similar extra resources (like extra paras to deal with special needs or extra reading specialists for dyslexia or whatever) if more kids with those needs are in one class.

My kid (who doesn’t have an IEP) was in one of the classes that seemed to have a lot of special needs kids last year, but not this year.

I definitely get fewer reports of kid misbehavior/meltdowns this year. But the paraprofessionals who helped my kid’s class last year (even the ones without special needs) don’t come to my kid’s class this year-it’s just the teacher. So there are tradeoffs. Kids with more needs bring more resources to the classroom that can benefit all the kids in that class.

Don’t judge your kids’ school by one class party.

The paras are doing nothing besides chasing or following around the most disruptive child and repeatedly telling people to sit down. My child doesn’t benefit from their presence in any way at all and it adds to the noise.

I should have mentioned in my OP that this is my 3rd time in this classroom and they have all been bad. One student only spends part of the day in the class (he is in a special program) and was not there for the first occasion and really added to the craziness today. I’m sure it was worse than usual because of the party but there’s no chance things are going well the rest of the time. I have heard reports teachers of older grades are already dreading this cohort.

Have your other times been "fly on the wall" type observing of regular class time? If not (and honestly even if so-- but certainly especially not if you're having it on special events) you can't assume that the paras are unhelpful.

+1. I would doubt anyone who would say paras are doing nothing but helping with a single kid. My kid has no special needs but has told me about the time Ms so and so helped with XYZ. That’s what adults do when they see a kid who needs a hand.

Any extra adult in the classroom is a help to the teacher.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not a McPS staffer, just a parent, but have heard that in my kids’ elementary school, they tend to cluster a lot of the kids with IEPs in the same class rather than distributing them evenly because it’s easier to provide similar extra resources (like extra paras to deal with special needs or extra reading specialists for dyslexia or whatever) if more kids with those needs are in one class.

My kid (who doesn’t have an IEP) was in one of the classes that seemed to have a lot of special needs kids last year, but not this year.

I definitely get fewer reports of kid misbehavior/meltdowns this year. But the paraprofessionals who helped my kid’s class last year (even the ones without special needs) don’t come to my kid’s class this year-it’s just the teacher. So there are tradeoffs. Kids with more needs bring more resources to the classroom that can benefit all the kids in that class.

Don’t judge your kids’ school by one class party.

The paras are doing nothing besides chasing or following around the most disruptive child and repeatedly telling people to sit down. My child doesn’t benefit from their presence in any way at all and it adds to the noise.

I should have mentioned in my OP that this is my 3rd time in this classroom and they have all been bad. One student only spends part of the day in the class (he is in a special program) and was not there for the first occasion and really added to the craziness today. I’m sure it was worse than usual because of the party but there’s no chance things are going well the rest of the time. I have heard reports teachers of older grades are already dreading this cohort.

Have your other times been "fly on the wall" type observing of regular class time? If not (and honestly even if so-- but certainly especially not if you're having it on special events) you can't assume that the paras are unhelpful.

What school are you at? Msybe there are more boys. School today us not made for boys. They can’t sit still for that long.

Please don’t use the valentines party as the metric for a regular school day.

Anonymous wrote:I am not a McPS staffer, just a parent, but have heard that in my kids’ elementary school, they tend to cluster a lot of the kids with IEPs in the same class rather than distributing them evenly because it’s easier to provide similar extra resources (like extra paras to deal with special needs or extra reading specialists for dyslexia or whatever) if more kids with those needs are in one class.

My kid (who doesn’t have an IEP) was in one of the classes that seemed to have a lot of special needs kids last year, but not this year.

I definitely get fewer reports of kid misbehavior/meltdowns this year. But the paraprofessionals who helped my kid’s class last year (even the ones without special needs) don’t come to my kid’s class this year-it’s just the teacher. So there are tradeoffs. Kids with more needs bring more resources to the classroom that can benefit all the kids in that class.

Don’t judge your kids’ school by one class party.

The paras are doing nothing besides chasing or following around the most disruptive child and repeatedly telling people to sit down. My child doesn’t benefit from their presence in any way at all and it adds to the noise.

I should have mentioned in my OP that this is my 3rd time in this classroom and they have all been bad. One student only spends part of the day in the class (he is in a special program) and was not there for the first occasion and really added to the craziness today. I’m sure it was worse than usual because of the party but there’s no chance things are going well the rest of the time. I have heard reports teachers of older grades are already dreading this cohort.

I am not a McPS staffer, just a parent, but have heard that in my kids’ elementary school, they tend to cluster a lot of the kids with IEPs in the same class rather than distributing them evenly because it’s easier to provide similar extra resources (like extra paras to deal with special needs or extra reading specialists for dyslexia or whatever) if more kids with those needs are in one class.

My kid (who doesn’t have an IEP) was in one of the classes that seemed to have a lot of special needs kids last year, but not this year.

I definitely get fewer reports of kid misbehavior/meltdowns this year. But the paraprofessionals who helped my kid’s class last year (even the ones without special needs) don’t come to my kid’s class this year-it’s just the teacher. So there are tradeoffs. Kids with more needs bring more resources to the classroom that can benefit all the kids in that class.

Don’t judge your kids’ school by one class party.

I just came back from my kids ES class party. Last year their class was really challenging and the teacher moved out of role after years of being in that school/grade. We prayed it was just a bad year but were hearing stories from other parents about the other classes. This year it seems the same again. Many kids with lost of challenges, none violent and i think my kid likes at least a couple of them but the class was pure chaos. We had heard this teacher was really good but she was not able to control them, even with the help of 2 paras. I know class parties can be nuts but my DC says it is always like that more or less. I think the teacher and the school are trying (I mean multiple paras in one class?) but it’s just not working. Is there anything that can be done? It’s a shame the class is also very large too, at or near the limit for the grade. I had an older child go through the same school and never had a single class remotely close to how insane these have been, so I feel like I have some perspective. And again I hear it from other parents about other classes. I would HATE to leave for private over this but I don’t know how many times we can say “oh it’s a tough year” before we admit that they are all going to be tough years…