Balance v Preference in elementary classrooms

Jane Meade, one of my Cassidy teachers, said it this way: "If we took every parent request, we'd end up with some classes that were black and white; and others that were pink and green." Pink and green was a none-to-subtle reference to the Junior League.

It is understandable that parents want to influence (or choose) who their child gets as their teacher. But if permitted, it makes it very difficult to balance classes.

This from the Daily News, by way of KSBA:

Choice of teachers up to principals At most schools, parents, welcome to make requests, but many factors are involved.

While Debbie Wade-Jordan’s children are beyond their elementary school years, she can remember when they were there and she was a parent making requests for classroom assignments.

“I have had times where my child wound up in the classroom I requested and
some where my child did not,” she said. “Oddly enough, it worked out both ways.”

It is a common desire for parents to have input, but when it comes to the makeup of classrooms, most schools say it’s left up to the principal - and sometimes a site-based decision making council policy - which teachers the students will have for the school year.

As the school year is quickly approaching, school administrators are finding they can’t guarantee all parents’ requests for teachers will be met.“It’s a sticky thing,” said Natcher Elementary School Principal Stephanie Martin. “All our teachers are good teachers ... (we try to) create a balanced list.”

Often a school policy or practice - and not one of the school district itself - most schools accept parental requests for the classroom assignment of their child. However, those requests are taken typically with the understanding that all requests cannot be met, and the decision to take requests is that of the principal, school officials said.

“Our SBDM policy states that parents can make a request in writing and the principal decides on the validity of the request,” said Will Compton, principal of Eastern Elementary in Barren County.Marsha Ingram, principal at W.R. McNeill Elementary School in Bowling Green, said if the request is for a legitimate reason and if it can be obliged, then it is honored.“But we still can’t honor every request,” she said.

Ingram, who said they get quite a few requests, said parents have been able to request teachers for years, but when the school’s SBDM council was established, they put in place a policy specifically for classroom assignments. That policy is being followed to a “T,” Ingram said.

Schools try to create balanced classrooms according to childrens’ different achievement levels, male/female ratios, ethnic backgrounds, equity in economic status and - at McNeill - teacher recommendations concerning separation of students because of behavioral problems. Once kids are divided according to the policy, Ingram said she went back and looked at requests.

According to the school’s policy, parent requests will be considered only after “all variables for creating heterogeneous classes have been met.”

“There are guidelines in place to follow,” Ingram said. “So if a request isn’t granted, we can go back and say this is why.”

At T.C. Cherry, principal Judy Whitson said they don’t advertise taking parental requests. She said, “We listen and take it under consideration.”

“And sometimes they have a good reason,” she said.However, Whitson said the makeup of a class, along with the other variables mentioned above, depends on classroom size. Whitson said they don’t have many requests for classroom assignments - about five a year.

While junior and high schools might take parental requests for teachers, it is a practice more common in elementary schools, Bowling Green Independent Schools Superintendent Joe Tinius said.The principal is the instructional leader of the school and bears the responsibility for ensuring every child experiences continuous progress in their education, said Judy Glass, elementary instructional supervisor for Warren County Schools.“Of course we try to honor a parent request, but sometimes it is not always possible because of space limitations and class size restrictions,” she said.

Mary Evans, principal at Cumberland Trace Elementary School, said they too have an SBDM council policy in place if parents want to make a request. If making a request, the policy asks parents to share information that would assist the teachers and principal in the classroom assignment process. Evans said, however, she prefers parents not request specific teachers in an effort to keep classrooms balanced.“We know that’s the way children grow and learn the best,” Glass said. “Some parents may want one teacher over the other because of hearsay, but we work with every teacher to maintain a good school climate.”

Wade-Jordan said she requested teachers based on the personalities of her children. Each of them respond to different personalities better than others, she said, and as she observed teachers she thought of which would interact the best with her children. Whether her request was met or not, her children never had a bad year, she said.

For example, Wade-Jordan said one year she requested a teacher and had all the reasons lined out as to why she wanted that teacher, and when the class list was posted, her child wasn’t in that teacher’s classroom. As time went on, Wade-Jordan said she saw that her child was having a great educational experience, which her child might have missed had the school complied to her request.

“Sometimes there are perceptions out there about teachers that aren’t accurate when it comes to the relationship with your child and his or her personality,” Wade-Jordan said.

At Rich Pond Elementary School, requests are not accepted, said principal Shawn Holland.“Our philosophy is that each teacher is highly skilled and can provide a quality education to all students,” he said. “Also, with well over 700 students, it would be next to an impossible task.”

Glass said in most schools, all staff contribute to the way children are assigned to classrooms, much like at Natcher. Martin said she depends a lot on input from her teachers.

Input from teachers also help classroom assignments at Richardsville, said Principal Kory Twyman.Twyman said he sits down with his teachers and talks about certain aspects, like students’ personalities, and make decisions based on input.“We do not take parent recommendations,” he said.The assignment of students to classrooms is a difficult process, he said, because “you’re looking out for the individual student and the whole group.” It is a process no one takes lightly, he said.

While it is a school-based decision, and most schools have policies in place that outline requests, Glass said schools are allowed to have such policies as long as it does not conflict with district or state policies.“

Parents know their child better than anyone; however, we know the instructional process and the intricate needs of that process,” Glass said. “And sometimes that doesn’t jibe with what the parents want.”