One of the end-of-year anxieties girls (and let’s face it, their moms) usually have is:  who will be my teacher next year, and who will be in my class?  Different personalities handle the impending change different ways:  some verbalize, some act out, some fret, and some stuff. 

I would like to take a moment to praise my daughter’s elementary school for making the choice this year to reveal next year’s teacher and class before the school year ended.  The school counselor, principal, and current teachers worked hard to balance so many factors that must be considered in the public school classroom mix:  social, behavioral, and academic (and I’m sure the staff would rattle off other factors as well). 

About one week prior to school’s end, the kids found out their teacher’s name.  Just a few days later, the new class (in this case fourth graders) met with their new teacher, in that teacher’s classroom, for 30 minutes or so.  They each left with a packet of summer work to prepare for fourth grade, and the confidence of having sat in their new classroom with at least one interaction with their new teacher. 

I know that for many students and parents, this relieves a lot of wondering and speculating about how next year will start off. If a parent or student is really concerned about the placement, he or she has time to discuss it with a staff member and better understand the rationale for that placement. 

I’m learning from chatting with other moms at other schools that some children don’t find out next year’s teacher until a postcard arrives in the mail about two weeks before school starts.  I suppose all kids and parents in those schools are in the same boat, but I personally am very glad to be sailing on the vessel our school chose — honest, up-front information, just in time. 

Mama J is a writer, parent, and stepparent based in Northern Colorado.  She blogs about raising girls and also features stepparenting issues every Wednesday.  To learn more about her book and upcoming audio, Stepparenting the Grieving Child, visit her website at www.dianefromme.com.

 

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