Schooling choices for 1st grader (Atlanta, Jackson: home, transfer, neighborhood)

[jadereksmom]

I recently moved into the Metro Atlanta area and had to place my son in a public school. He was enrolled early January of this year and I have had to visit the principal's office roughly 6 times. Before my son was very mannerable (yes mam/sir) honest and just a good all around kid. He still is at home and elsewhere but I constantly get reports of how he acts out at school and on the bus with his friends. I am terrified and extremely disgusted with his surroundings. I am planning to transfer him to another public school for next year but am kinda hesitant fearing the same will occur at the new school. My thought is maybe there is no respect for the female principal and staff at his current school which is why the kids behave the way they do. The prospect school has a male principal and more male staff. Do you think i should be drawn to that school because of the ratio thinking they will run a more tight ship? I discipline my son and don't tolerate mess but I can't go to school with him. He's an A student and can master all 1st and 2nd grade skills. I just can't afford to place him in a more (positive environment) school right now. Please help with your suggestions and any information regarding neighboring schools excelling academically near 30312 area.

[TakeAhike]

I don't have a recommendation of a school that would be better for your child in that zipcode. It's near the end of the year--not certain how long your son has been enrolled in this school. Something seems to be off. I would communicate closely with teachers and the principal until the end of the year.

[cmtiger]

What is your specific neighborhood? 30312 includes a lot of areas.

[Windu]

You said you don't tolerate any mess, but your son keeps doing it (6 times, you said). You need to face reality -- It's not the school.

He ain't hardly scared of you at all. 6 times. Think about that. Whatever you said, even after the 5th time, did not cause him to change his behavior at school. Your discipline is a failure. It's that simple. It's not the school's fault if your son doesn't respect the principal or teachers. It's yours. Your child's respect for adults shouldn't vary at all based on the adult, frankly. If you've told your child to be respectful to his teachers and he isn't, then he's disrespecting YOU. Directly.

Time for you to figure out what it really means to have your child under control. You're talking about a first grader. Let's get him in line before we're talking about a teenager.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by Windu

You said you don't tolerate any mess, but your son keeps doing it (6 times, you said). You need to face reality -- It's not the school.

He ain't hardly scared of you at all. 6 times. Think about that. Whatever you said, even after the 5th time, did not cause him to change his behavior at school. Your discipline is a failure. It's that simple. It's not the school's fault if your son doesn't respect the principal or teachers. It's yours. Your child's respect for adults shouldn't vary at all based on the adult, frankly. If you've told your child to be respectful to his teachers and he isn't, then he's disrespecting YOU. Directly.

Time for you to figure out what it really means to have your child under control. You're talking about a first grader. Let's get him in line before we're talking about a teenager.

Yes, this needed to be said.

[BobKovacs]

Are you planning on moving? You can't just pick the school you want to send your kid to, so unless you plan on relocating to try to solve this problem, you're SOL.

[jadereksmom]

Discipline is not the issue. I am confident of that. I recently visited APS and contacted a parent liasion only to find out that schoool has a very poor academic record. I am not from Atlanta and was not able to choose schools at that time. General transfers are being granted now and I will take the necessary measures to place him accordingly. My son was in the gifted at his prior school so I know what his abilities are. There also was not a discipline policy in place at this school so instead of the teachers trying to take control of the classroom they send the kids out and write them up. I'm not young and come from a highly disciplined family. I appreciate your comment anyways.

Originally Posted by Windu

You said you don't tolerate any mess, but your son keeps doing it (6 times, you said). You need to face reality -- It's not the school.

He ain't hardly scared of you at all. 6 times. Think about that. Whatever you said, even after the 5th time, did not cause him to change his behavior at school. Your discipline is a failure. It's that simple. It's not the school's fault if your son doesn't respect the principal or teachers. It's yours. Your child's respect for adults shouldn't vary at all based on the adult, frankly. If you've told your child to be respectful to his teachers and he isn't, then he's disrespecting YOU. Directly.

Time for you to figure out what it really means to have your child under control. You're talking about a first grader. Let's get him in line before we're talking about a teenager.

[historychic09]

Your son should respect authority, in this case the teacher and principal, no matter what the gender. While he may still respect you i would suspect that he has grouped with his friends at school who probably do not respect their parents at all. Peer pressure at any age is hard for a kid to go against. If you remove him from the school i would highly suggest also cutting ties with other children who have had similar issues.

have you talked to your son to see why he has been causing these disturbances? It is also possible that he does not respect his teachers because their lesson plans are not advanced enough, and as such he has become bored. You may want to see about signing up for him to test into a gifted/talented program. Although these too have several issues with them he might find them a more engaging, and then spend more time learning than getting into trouble.

I don't believe that anyone is to 'blame' in this matter. The schools are in general overcrowded, and our teachers paid very little for what they do. Be glad that this disciplinary actions have caused you to focus your attention on your son and hope that you'll be able to remedy it. While it might not have been the ideal situation, at least it alerted you that there were issues with something.

[Sweet Atlanta Peach]

If you google (as I did just out of curiosity) "Schools in the 30312 zip code", a list of schools comes up with reviews. Parkside Elementary School in the Grant Park area seems to have a lot of good reviews. If you think this will solve the problem, Parkside may be worth looking into.

What school is he at presently? (just to be curious) With Atlanta Public Schools (just like most systems), the schools are hit ot miss, but some of the known greats are Sarah Smith, Warren T. Jackson, and Mary Lin. However, obviously, these are out of your zip code range.

Grant Park Parent Network (GPPN) - Parkside Elementary

Schools in the 30312 zip code - Google Maps

[kaday]

Maybe he is angry about moving. We move a lot and it really takes my kids a good year to settle in...if not longer. Especially with my younger child (going into 1st) she seems to transition well but then down the line as time goes by she seems to struggle. Maybe you should consult a counselor or child psychiatrist. I don't know your son but it seems moving him again would be another transition for him. Perhaps acting out is his way of dealing with the changes...if you could find another way to channel his energy maybe then he'd settle down. It could be the school but that being said, life is full of changes and tough situations, sometimes even young children have to learn how to make it work where they are. Its a good survival skill for the future. Best of luck to you.