Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Here we got the names for elementary and middle school this week and school starts a week from Monday. For the junior high, the kids do not get the names until the first day of school. School starts here August 24.
With my grandson, he is autistic and gets anxious when he does not know what will happen. We wanted to come in and get him a tour, but they did not want to allow that. Luckily, his teacher said we could do it on the Friday inservice day.
When my kids were in school, we got their teacher's names in the mail in late July or early August, so about a month before school.
Also, how long in advance to you get your school supply list. With the jr high, we just got it, but the other jr high's posted it on the district website a month or two ago. We figured the list is the same for all the jr. highs, so we have the supplies, but just wonder why they did not give it out online as the other schools in the district do. For the elementary and middle schools, we order online from the pta which we like because there is no running around from store to store.
Supply lists for elementary and middle school are available before school is out for the next year since they sell supply packages for a fundraiser. They are never the same between schools around here because the grade level teachers get together and decide what they want the kids to have. Elementary grades have some that want folders with pockets only, some want folders with pockets and prongs. Some want glue sticks while others want bottles. Mechanical pencils are definitely preferred by some while others only want #2 pencils. In middle school spirals are requested for some teachers while others prefer composition notebooks. Some want binders for each class, some want one big binder with dividers. No matter what they ask for, each school in our district has their package for sale in the spring prior and that is where you can find the list easily.
In regards to knowing who a teacher is........teacher turnover and student turn over these days are much higher than before. People don't often stay in one place for years like it used to be. What they plan in spring for the next year almost always has to be done over due to teachers retiring/transferring/changing grade levels, student enrollment being higher or lower than planned or adjustments due to goals set for the year.
They don't share what they plan until they know it is pretty much final. Even then there are still changes that occur after getting that information.
One of my daughters teaches in a local elementary and she had a tentative class list last May based on which students were in the school at the time. After that, they learned of a teacher in her grade leaving the school and the decision was made to bring one from a higher grade down into theirs. Her experience is different than those who have been in that grade for a while now and the class lists are being looked at for possible changes in order to better fit the new dynamic of the team. They also knew there was a possibility that they would need one more class than normal because the group from last year was larger than average. Until everyone registers they won't know for sure how many teachers they will need.
Also, in her school and grade level, each teacher teaches 2 subjects and they share half the grade level with a teacher who teaches the other subjects. Her school had a challenging subject last year with a particular teacher so they made adjustments on who teaches what subject this year which affects some of the individual students.
Let's just say it's not good to say one thing then have it changed later. Better to wait until it's pretty solid and not in too much danger of being changed.
My school district posts class lists on the doors of the elementary schools about four days before school opens. Although the lists are prepared by the teachers, counselors and principals in May, there are always last minute changes.
Sometimes, staff changes at the last minute, often children move in or move out, and everyone wants the lists to be as accurate as possible.
Middle school & HS kids get their lists of classes a few days before school starts, when they come in to get their pictures taken for their student ID and do various types of paperwork.
Elementary school supply lists are sent home before school ends both by the school and by the district with the final report card and they are in the letter that lists bussing for the student (about two weeks before school starts). Supply lists are done by grade level not by specific teacher. In addition, most local stores such as Target, office supply stores, Walmart, etc. post the lists. I do not know/recall about MS & HS.
Yet, there are always many parents who come to the elementary school office a few days before the first day and are very grumpy that they don't know what supplies to buy.
PS. for students with special needs there are often many modifications or adaptations made to the general rules. It is very common to allow students with autism to get their schedule in advance and even to arrange to walk the path between classes and meet each teacher.
Of course, sometimes this can be a problem, too. One year I had to cut my end of summer family vacation short because my principal insisted that I meet and give a tour to a new student before the teachers were scheduled to return to school (so the student was not bothered by the noise & activity). While, technically I could have refused as this was extremely inconvenient to me and I was not getting paid to come in for that half day I did not want to irritate my boss & the parents at the start of the school year. OP, perhaps it was hard to schedule something for your grandson as other parents had been too demanding of special arrangements in the past?
Last edited by germaine2626; 08-15-2015 at 08:37 AM..
Had most of my Son's (Got him 1 week into 4th grade), MS & HS teachers in Late April or May at his IEP update meeting. Most of his classes were regular class rooms,
But the team picked who would be the best teacher for his needed, and built his schedule around that. (and Other timing issues), a few were done a week or two before school started.
Had most of my Son's (Got him 1 week into 4th grade), MS & HS teachers in Late April or May at his IEP update meeting. Most of his classes were regular class rooms,
But the team picked who would be the best teacher for his needed, and built his schedule around that. (and Other timing issues), a few were done a week or two before school started.
I agree, in special ed., many, if not all, of the teachers for the upcoming school year are known to the parents if the child has an IEP right before the end of the year (of course, there may be minor changes if a teacher leaves, etc). In my district we are required to have a revision within six weeks of the last day of school for all children transferring levels (EC to elementary, elementary to MS, MS to HS). IF the child is not transferring levels they may not have a revision and in that case only the special education teacher may be known.
In my district, we have Meet the Teacher Night next Thursday, Aug 20. They put the teacher names in the mail on Monday so most people get their teacher name on Wednesday, the day before we meet the teacher. School starts the following Monday, Aug 24.
I'm a senior in high school and our district is completely computerized, so we get our teacher list on the school database where we also see our grades and any events going on at the time, about three weeks before school starts.
Sometimes it changes. For example, last year I took accounting and the teacher switched three times because the initial one was fired, the next one they hired left, and the third was our teacher for the rest of the year.
It's usually one week, but sometimes exceptions are made for certain students.
When I taught children with autism, they were able to visit my classroom with their parent and set up their desks. They got used to the environment in a quiet setting and gotten used to me and the setup in the classroom. I also went over the schedule with them, so they knew what to expect the first day of school.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
