Forgive me if this question has already been answered, but I could find nothing in the archives.
My niece is in kindergarten and has attended a morning class since August. Her teacher has implemented several lesson plans that add to the current curriculum, and my niece is excelling in her schoolwork (she’s in the top group). There are currently four kindergarten classes with over 21 students per class.
Now, the school district is scrambling to reduce the size of the classes to meet class reduction requirements (this is a “voluntary incentive” requirement (in California) which will award the school district $400 per student).
The district is adding an afternoon class to meet the requirement. Since they could not find enough volunteers to fill the afternoon class, the school will have a lottery to determine what students will fill the new class.
My sister is very concerned because she and her husband both work and cannot change their schedules to fit the afternoon class. Also, they are happy with my niece’s performance in school and are concerned that the new class (with another teacher) will not have the advanced lesson plans (yes, they are more advanced than the other classes – my niece is now a more than a grade level ahead) that her current teacher uses. The district says that work schedules are not going to be considered as they believe the lottery is the fairest solution.
My question is this (sorry for the length of the explanation): What options does my sister have if her child is chosen? Is there some kind of appeals process? What exactly are the rights of parents regarding the education of their children in public schools? I’ve searched the Web, but haven’t had much luck.
I think you are conflating two issues here. One is the right of the school district to inconvenience parents by rescheduling the classes and the other is the right to access appropriate education for their kid.
I don’t have any idea as to the legal right WRT scheduling classes at a time convenient to the parents.
Is California a state where a child can get an IEP if they test in the gifted range? I’m not sure whether it is or not. My personal take on kids who test out of the norm is that I am not willing to have my kid’s (or anybody’s kid) education dependent on the whim or ability of that year’s teacher. The parents need to investigate what is available in terms of an IEP or they need to consider having testing done so they can discuss with the school what options are available for extension or acceleration. If there is no right to an IEP in California or if your niece doesn’t test in the gifted range, they may need to consider other schools. Disclaimer - some bright kids are not going to test in the gifted range - they might be lousy test sitters or the tester might not be their cup of tea. IMO they still have the need for appropriate education
Basically, none. A public school is a government-funded and government-controlled beauracracy and lacks the economic impetus to please the parents of their students. If your niece’s parents threaten to pull her out, the principal will probably say something like “Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.”
If, however, your niece were enrolled in a private school, the teacher/principal/administration would probably be a lot more willing to work with her parents, as they have an incentive to “keep their business,” in a manner of speaking.
So I reccomend that her parents enroll her in a private school.
:::the afternoon-class private-school Kindergarten teacher raises her hand and waits patiently for her turn:::
Ok, what rastahomie said is probably right on the money. Public school? Sorry, I think your niece is SOL.
Private school? Sure, we would be more accomodating. We want your money! (kidding!)
If she gets picked to move to the afternoon class, the only thing I can think of is to ask to speak to the principal and her old teacher, and calmly discuss their feelings about the switch (work schedule, curriculum, new teacher, etc.) and then throw themselves on the mercy of the school and beg.
They should find out if the afternoon class will be using the expanded curriculum. Maybe the school board has the idea of putting the Gifted & Talented kids all in one class together, and your niece could be better off.
If your niece is in a G&T class now, (and excelling) I can’t imagine they would move her to a class where she wouldn’t be challenged.
At the risk of sounding too cynical, parents, NOT the gevernment, run schools. Administrators are ALWAYS overturning decisions and bending rules to cater to vocal parents. Sometimes this is a good thing, but usually it’s bad.
My take is that the administration said “no consideration - equity” to try to keep screaming parents away. (It won’t work.)
I can tell you, with extreme confidence, that Kinsey is pretty much right on with the ask to speak to principal thing.
[Advice to sis]
Wait until after the lottery (all this could be made moot), and if she is selected for afternoon class, have a meeting immediately with the teacher, Principal (or VP) and councellor. Calmly discuss your position. You have a trump card; you can scream before the school board and/or the press. DON’T SHOW THIS TRUMP CARD UNLESS IT IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY!!! Administrators don’t like it when parents go over their heads. Oh, if the meeting is after your daughter’s class, take her to the meeting. Admins. are less likely to treat you like a second-class citizen if your kid is present.
best of luck.
P.S.: Thank your bro for posting this question.
[/advice to sis]
Bullcrap! While you may be correct in terms of “rights”, I’ve found with my three kids that if you try to work with the school administration, they’ll try to work with you.
On the ohter hand, my experience with private schools in more than one city has been “if you don’t think our school is appropriate to your needs, perhaps you’d be happier somewhere else.”
I suggest the rest of this discussion go to Great Debates.
Say your niece is moved. Have her parents make an appointment to calmly discuss the matter. Spritle’s suggestion of taking their daughter is a good idea. Be sure they keep it nice and civil.
If they are accomodated, please make sure they KEEP THEIR MOUTHS SHUT about it. If they go telling all the other parents that they got to pick their daughter’s class, etc., the principal will end up with fifty irate parents in his office screaming, “But OneMadJack’s niece was changed, why can’t my child be changed?!?”
Thanks.
Ok, I’m off to mold the minds of the future!
I have to ask, why are they doing this at all in the middle of the school year? It can’t help but be disruptive to the children. kindergarten is already a big adjustment, and this just adds to the load. If enough parents complained that they shouldn’t be doing this at all, they might put it off half a year.
The short answer is that they have to meet an April deadline for funding through the CSR program.
The long answer is that the district is in a rural area where local politics enters every sphere of the town’s business, schools, etc. Last year, the teachers went on strike. At the beginning of the new school year in the fall, the teachers who led the strike were out of jobs (or at least those family members close to them employed by the district). One such teacher was the woman picked to teach the original afternoon class that had been planned. So, the administration started the school year with the class levels over the limit, thinking they would lose enough students over the course of the year to make the requirement. They didn’t, so are now faced with trying to reduce class size in the middle of the school year.
Note on above: I know next to nothing about the strike or its aftermath (or lack thereof). I do know that the since it’s a small town emotions were pretty high over the whole thing. The old school board has recently been replaced with four new members. I mention this because I don’t want to negatively portray one side or the other.
Thanks for all of your helpful suggestions. I know that the only gifted programs in the district start in middle school, and that there are no private schools in the area (at least within 90 miles) which makes that option not feasible.
The notion that a public school district has no motive to be responsive to the parents is absolutely false. Public schools have EVERY motive to be responsive to parents:
The parents (i.e. taxpayers) pay the salaries of everyone employed by the district.
Happy parents are – well – HAPPY. They don’t crowd offices all day with complaints!
Happy parents lead to happy students. Happy students lead to happy teachers. Happy teachers lead to happy students. Happy students lead to happy parents. It’s all related. And with so much happiness around, the administration is bound to also be happy.
Public schools are run BY the community, not FOR the community. School board members are elected from within the district. If they want your vote, they’ll try to make you happy.
The OP’er says that this is a rural school. That makes the above even more true. Your kids aren’t some faceless kids from across a huge city – they’re your neighbors. You see them at church, in local stores, travelling around the community. It’s much more difficult for a school official to mistreat a family that he’s going to have to see a Little League practice that night.
To the OP’s sister:
Your answer lies here: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/calawquery?codesection=edc&codebody=&hits=20 . The California Education Code spells out everything (and I mean EVERYTHING!) your school is required to do. Every state has one of these. Your school library has a copy. Your superintendent has a copy. Find what you’re looking for and show it to him.
However, that’s a last resort. The BEST way to handle this is to be a part of the SOLUTION not a part of the PROBLEM. Decisions about schedules, class-size, enrollment, etc., were made in public meetings. Attend them! Ask to be placed on the agenda. Make your school officials know what you think. Tell them you will not rest until your child’s education is properly addressed. Point out the positives: how delighted you are with their fine work so far. You are dismayed that they wish to tamper with such success. Stay positive, but determined. Don’t get emotional! Point out how good things are and that you will not allow things to get bad.
Most importantly – GET INVOLVED!!! School districts don’t exist in a vaccuum. Work with your child’s educators. They want desperately to work with you!
