Child/teacher selection process in Hillsborough county (real estate, home)

[algia]

Does anyone know HOW kids get assigned to different teachers in elementary schools in Hillsborough County?

Can this be disputed? how do I request that my son be in a specific teacher' class?

EDIT: Do teachers pick names out of a bowl? or is there some other way that this is done?

[katleigh]

Originally Posted by algia

Does anyone know HOW kids get assigned to different teachers in elementary schools in Hillsborough County?

Can this be disputed? how do I request that my son be in a specific teacher' class?

EDIT: Do teachers pick names out of a bowl? or is there some other way that this is done?

Classes are usually divided by gender, race and ability. The office ultimately places the student and the teachers have minimal input. You can request a teacher (in the office) but there is no guarantee.

[annaegel]

Can it be disputed? It depends on each principal. They have the authority to change or not change your childs classroom assignment. Teacher do have some say. They look at FCAT scores, if your child has taken them. If they have not taken any, they look at class performance.

If you want to change your childs teacher, you have to prove why it would be detrimental to your child to have this teacher or if you know that there is a child in that teachers classroom that would be problematic. Don't wait too long after school starts to request. The longer you wait, the more difficult it will be to get the change you want.

[DUNNDFRNT]

Originally Posted by katleigh

Classes are usually divided by gender, race and ability. The office ultimately places the student and the teachers have minimal input. You can request a teacher (in the office) but there is no guarantee.

First of all, gender, race and ability, not interrelated at all, couldn't possibly separate them by that, not to mention illegal. In Hillsborough starting in middle school they are separated by that fcat scores, in honors and advanced honors.

[FloridaKash]

I think teacher assignments are picked randomly. We had one of my kids switched to a different teacher because he is in ESE and the teacher they assigned him was not an ESE teacher.

Sure, it can be disputed. But your reasoning, demeanor and they way approach the situation will likely effect your results.

[MortonR]

If a student is an existing student in the school, teacher assignments are done at the end of the year prior to their promotion. That is, in April or May of this year, the teachers in both grades, the one they are currently in and the one they will be promoted to, meet as a group, often with the principal present, and decide who will go where.

There are a lot of variables present in these decisions, both tangible and intangible. Efforts are made to "balance" the classrooms with students of different levels and abilities, in order to prevent a teacher from having students "bunched" at one end of the developmental spectrum.

Personalities and behaviors are considered as well, which is why this is typically done as a group. The teachers who presently have the student know them best, and they also know the abilities and personalities of the teachers in the next grade level, so between the group they will attempt to get a good match with the student and teacher.

Requests to have your student placed in a particular teacher's class are usually handled by an acknowledgement of your request and nothing more. You will be told that classroom assignments are done by committee and no promises can be made, although your desire will be noted. Unfortunately, people tend to want to have their student in one particular teacher's class, effectively "loading" their class and leaving few for others. As a result of this and the criteria explained above, it's pretty much a crapshoot unless you're an employee. I had very specific choices for my youngest child's teachers and as an employee those wishes are usually granted.

Once the placements are made, which is before the end of the school year, the teachers get a roster and will know who they have. They cannot disclose this information to parents before placement cards are mailed prior to the beginning of the new school year. People literally bombard the office the week or two before placement cards go out, wanting to know what teacher their student has. I know of no school in HCPS that divulges this information in advance. To do so would create havoc, to say the least.

If you attempt to request a change in placement, there is an official process in place to do so. Understand that NO changes in placement will be made before the 20th day count, as placements are frozen until class sizes are established for the purpose of FTE. After the 20th day, the placement requests get reviewed by a committee and changes, if any, are made.

There are ways to do an end run around the process that have a limited success rate, but I will not reveal them publicly.

As far as success rate for placement changes, well, it varies depending on the school, the administration, and how cooperative the parent is. I can assure you that if you badger and harass the staff and administration about it, your chances are slim. If you're cooperative and make a compelling point other than "I like that teacher better" you probably have a good chance. Bottom line, don't be a jerk about it.

Also consider that the teacher your student does get might be pretty good after all - in fairness to them, give it a chance before you start mounting a campaign to get them moved to the "favorite" teacher that everyone wants. Some of the very best teachers are not necessarily the most popular or visible. While those traits might be desirable for some, it's not always a good thing to draw attention to yourself. Not to mention, they might get into the "favorite" teachers class and end up discovering that it's a dud for them. Do that and you'll have an even tougher time getting them transferred out.

RM

[tpajr]

Originally Posted by katleigh

Classes are usually divided by gender, race and ability.

Is this an official county documented process or just your experience?

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by katleigh

Classes are usually divided by gender, race and ability. The office ultimately places the student and the teachers have minimal input. You can request a teacher (in the office) but there is no guarantee.

I would strongly disagree with this. In the schools I have worked in, there are considerations for the makeup of the classes, but there has always been a committee that determines and/or makes recommendations for placements.

There is both an Office of Student Planning, Placement and Support Programs as well as the Division for Administration of Student Placement, but other than with Choice and Magnet, to the best of my knowledge these groups only provide guidelines for placements.

RM

[crazynip]

I'm sure whatever random teacher your kid will get will be fine, it's just roulette process

[algia]

Thank you explaining this in detail. I was curious to know how this works here in case I needed to do that. I don't. I already meet the teacher, and I am OK for now! Plus, I would never be a jerk with this kind of stuff.

However I HOPE that they are not picked by religion, race etc etc cause THAT would be a bigger problem for those involved. I never even thought of that, because my concern had more to do with "teacher demeanor", and overall personalty than anything else. To describe in more detail what I am referring to is that a younger teacher between say 25 and 30 years old has a certain up beat demeanor, more engaging than say at 50 year old teacher. Of course the 50 year old has more experience, but I was more concerned with a personality crash (between the teacher and the child) than one's experience when I asked this question. For example, my son's kindergarten teacher was a childless woman in her late 40, early 50's with no understanding of "kids spill things at times", and who terrorized her entire class over the dumbest things. My son hated her from day one, and he wasn't the only one...she sent a little girl home because he skirt was too pink! that woman should have never taught kindergarten. Very snotty.

I was wondering if teachers take personality tests before entering a class room, because i know administrative assistants that want to work in a real estate office have too!? I say that because even in my experience I responded a lot better to a engaging teacher than an old broad! Excuse my comparison, but both my math teachers were old bored broads! They would write a black board full of stuff, in complete and utter silence, and then turn around and go: "did you get that? lets do a test"?! who the frick does that? whatever...its passed now......but they made my experience in that class miserable. I wanted to prevent my kids from going through that...i know it is impossible at times, which is why I wanted to know how the selection process works.

Originally Posted by MortonR

If a student is an existing student in the school, teacher assignments are done at the end of the year prior to their promotion. That is, in April or May of this year, the teachers in both grades, the one they are currently in and the one they will be promoted to, meet as a group, often with the principal present, and decide who will go where.

There are a lot of variables present in these decisions, both tangible and intangible. Efforts are made to "balance" the classrooms with students of different levels and abilities, in order to prevent a teacher from having students "bunched" at one end of the developmental spectrum.

Personalities and behaviors are considered as well, which is why this is typically done as a group. The teachers who presently have the student know them best, and they also know the abilities and personalities of the teachers in the next grade level, so between the group they will attempt to get a good match with the student and teacher.

Requests to have your student placed in a particular teacher's class are usually handled by an acknowledgement of your request and nothing more. You will be told that classroom assignments are done by committee and no promises can be made, although your desire will be noted. Unfortunately, people tend to want to have their student in one particular teacher's class, effectively "loading" their class and leaving few for others. As a result of this and the criteria explained above, it's pretty much a crapshoot unless you're an employee. I had very specific choices for my youngest child's teachers and as an employee those wishes are usually granted.

Once the placements are made, which is before the end of the school year, the teachers get a roster and will know who they have. They cannot disclose this information to parents before placement cards are mailed prior to the beginning of the new school year. People literally bombard the office the week or two before placement cards go out, wanting to know what teacher their student has. I know of no school in HCPS that divulges this information in advance. To do so would create havoc, to say the least.

If you attempt to request a change in placement, there is an official process in place to do so. Understand that NO changes in placement will be made before the 20th day count, as placements are frozen until class sizes are established for the purpose of FTE. After the 20th day, the placement requests get reviewed by a committee and changes, if any, are made.

There are ways to do an end run around the process that have a limited success rate, but I will not reveal them publicly.

As far as success rate for placement changes, well, it varies depending on the school, the administration, and how cooperative the parent is. I can assure you that if you badger and harass the staff and administration about it, your chances are slim. If you're cooperative and make a compelling point other than "I like that teacher better" you probably have a good chance. Bottom line, don't be a jerk about it.

Also consider that the teacher your student does get might be pretty good after all - in fairness to them, give it a chance before you start mounting a campaign to get them moved to the "favorite" teacher that everyone wants. Some of the very best teachers are not necessarily the most popular or visible. While those traits might be desirable for some, it's not always a good thing to draw attention to yourself. Not to mention, they might get into the "favorite" teachers class and end up discovering that it's a dud for them. Do that and you'll have an even tougher time getting them transferred out.

RM