Do I or Not

[justme831am]

So, I am reaching out to other parents and teachers, trying to make the right choice for my child. He is autistic, as well as ADHD Combined. Is in Kindergarten, but will be held back next year. My problem is that his teacher this year also wants him again next year, which is not a problem for me, but is a problem for the school district. I feel he already has a good relationship with said teacher, she knows his perks, what will and won't work with him, as well as she already teaches him differently than the other students. He also has speech issues, and after having him in her classroom, she knows he gets frustrated when hes not understood and has been able to work with him in such a situation. A New teacher is going to have to start from ground 1, learning to deal with my child, which could take some time. The teacher he has now, already knows. So do I fight to keep same teacher again, or go ahead and let them give him a different teacher?

 

[lanejudy]

What is the school district's reason for not staying with the same teacher? That might influence my opinion.

On the surface, I agree with you that continuity with a teacher has many advantages. Many schools actually do "looping" such that has a teacher stays with the same group of children for 2 years (for example 1st and 2nd grade, etc.).

There are also advantages for the child to be exposed to different adults in leadership position. Or maybe the proposed classroom/teacher offers a different experience (partial or complete) that would be beneficial for him and not available with the first teacher.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

My aunt taught elementary school for more than 40 years and the last several years of her working (she retired in 2019) the school district went to the teachers having to stick with the same class for two years. In her particular school none of the teachers liked this requirement. It honestly caused teachers to leave the school district in combination with how they handled behavioral issues. People forget that teachers get burnt out and it can be even worse when behavioral issues are addressed poorly.

Personally I grew up with an elementary school where there were split grades. When I was in 2nd grade it was a split 2nd/3rd grade. When I moved to 3rd grade it was a split 3rd/4th grade. There were only 2 teachers per grade for pre-k thru 3rd and I actually had the same teacher for 2nd and 3rd grade. I had a new teacher for 4th, 5th and 6th grade and none of those were split grades. In my case I was not fond of my teacher and it was not my preference to have her again.

For your situation your teacher does want to stick with your child so I can understand pushing more. However, have you considered if your child would qualify for special needs or a para? Because ultimately it would be unrealistic for a teacher teaching kindergarten to follow for years and years especially as your child is being held back to stay in kindergarten. Understandably a para would have to learn your son the same as a new teacher but they are also more equipped. Your son's teacher at the end of the day is still a teacher for the entire class.

I do have a question, if your son is being held back for kindergarten does state law allow you to withdraw your son from schooling? I realize that sounds drastic but to be held back in kindergarten may mean your son isn't ready for schooling. In my state compulsory attendance is required once the child reaches age 7. Technically once you enroll a child in school you have to keep them in it but I don't have any experience if there are exceptions for when a child truly exhibits signs that they are not ready for school and are also under the age of legal compulsory attendance.

 

[justme831am]

What is the school district's reason for not staying with the same teacher? That might influence my opinion.

On the surface, I agree with you that continuity with a teacher has many advantages. Many schools actually do "looping" such that has a teacher stays with the same group of children for 2 years (for example 1st and 2nd grade, etc.).

There are also advantages for the child to be exposed to different adults in leadership position. Or maybe the proposed classroom/teacher offers a different experience (partial or complete) that would be beneficial for him and not available with the first teacher.

The only reason I was given, and it was given to me only by the principal, was that "Different Teacher, Different style of teaching." Which I do understand to an extent. However, if its their policy, I'm quit sure the policy is for more than likely made for what most would consider a "normal" child. And whos to say whats normal now days. I don't like that word. And kids that are in Special Ed class, normally keep the same teacher for more than one year, as well as kids that are in higher grades and get held back, do get some of the same teachers, so it can't be that bad for the kids. My child does have a IEP, just done yesterday, and his least restrictive environment they felt would be a regular classroom, which I'm fine with.

 

[justme831am]

My aunt taught elementary school for more than 40 years and the last several years of her working (she retired in 2019) the school district went to the teachers having to stick with the same class for two years. In her particular school none of the teachers liked this requirement. It honestly caused teachers to leave the school district in combination with how they handled behavioral issues. People forget that teachers get burnt out and it can be even worse when behavioral issues are addressed poorly.

Personally I grew up with an elementary school where there were split grades. When I was in 2nd grade it was a split 2nd/3rd grade. When I moved to 3rd grade it was a split 3rd/4th grade. There were only 2 teachers per grade for pre-k thru 3rd and I actually had the same teacher for 2nd and 3rd grade. I had a new teacher for 4th, 5th and 6th grade and none of those were split grades. In my case I was not fond of my teacher and it was not my preference to have her again.

For your situation your teacher does want to stick with your child so I can understand pushing more. However, have you considered if your child would qualify for special needs or a para? Because ultimately it would be unrealistic for a teacher teaching kindergarten to follow for years and years especially as your child is being held back to stay in kindergarten. Understandably a para would have to learn your son the same as a new teacher but they are also more equipped. Your son's teacher at the end of the day is still a teacher for the entire class.

I do have a question, if your son is being held back for kindergarten does state law allow you to withdraw your son from schooling? I realize that sounds drastic but to be held back in kindergarten may mean your son isn't ready for schooling. In my state compulsory attendance is required once the child reaches age 7. Technically once you enroll a child in school you have to keep them in it but I don't have any experience if there are exceptions for when a child truly exhibits signs that they are not ready for school and are also under the age of legal compulsory attendance.

Thank you for your input. I tried last year in the same school district to not allow them to push him into Kindergarten. I wanted him to repeat Pre-K, and so did his Pre-K teacher. The only reason I put him in Pre-K to begin with was by the request of his speech teacher. He was barley old enough to go into it. I thought he would benifit for another year in Pre-K. But ran into a wall with same principle stating they could'nt do that. I felt like they were setting him up to fail, and my thoughts came true, because he is now failing, on top of being held back.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Thank you for your input. I tried last year in the same school district to not allow them to push him into Kindergarten. I wanted him to repeat Pre-K, and so did his Pre-K teacher. The only reason I put him in Pre-K to begin with was by the request of his speech teacher. He was barley old enough to go into it. I thought he would benifit for another year in Pre-K. But ran into a wall with same principle stating they could'nt do that. I felt like they were setting him up to fail, and my thoughts came true, because he is now failing, on top of being held back.

I am so sorry! That really sounds like you're up against a very hard rock especially as you noted issues early on and tried to be proactive about them

 

[lanejudy]

he is now failing, on top of being held back.

No, he is learning at his pace. Support that. He is learning at his pace. And if he was a young-pre-K, that makes him a young-K and he would forever be on the young side. So repeating makes sense. Honestly, as long as you have a supportive IEP team, repeating pre-K or repeating K isn't much different. So you did not fail him and he is not failing. He is progressing at his own pace.

I am a little confused if he just got an IEP (first time, now near the end of K) or if it was just renewed (because IEPs are updated every year with an evaluation every 3 years). If he had SLP in pre-K, I assume he already had an IEP, and yes the kids need to be in a school setting (includes pre-K) to receive IEP-related services. That explains why he was pushed into pre-K as soon as he was old enough. My DD also needed to be in pre-K for her services at age 3-4-5; we did repeat pre-K instead of starting Kindergarten at 5+1 mos because she was so far behind. But don't beat yourself up over not repeating pre-K then needing to repeat K.

As to the classroom placement...did you question the principal more about the suggested new placement? Does it have more of a special-ed focus? Does that teacher have more experience with special ed and/or autism? Not that experience must override an existing connection, because it sounds like he has connected with the current K teacher. Will there be any continuity of other supports he receives (speech, a para, behavioral specialist, etc.)? I would ask if I them to arrange for you to visit the new classroom, maybe meet the new teacher. See what you think. Then ask to visit again with your son. They should have written a transition plan for helping introduce and acclimate him to the new classroom and new teacher. If not, you can request that.

If you don't like the visit, or they refuse to allow you to visit... well, I'd be tempted to push the matter up to the district level. There should be a formal process you can follow to dispute the proposed placement. BUT (and I say that with a huge BUT) how has your relationship been with the school in general, the principal, and the current teacher up until now. You will need to work with these people for the next few years, so trying to find a compromise is always better than digging in your heels and creating more tension and stress that just follows you (and your child) for the next few years. My DD is a 5th-year high school senior now, but I always found meeting them halfway and trying to be a team worked out best; there were only a couple of times that I felt I had to really insist about something.

 

[RF536]

I would push if it seems like a good fit for your son. My older son was in a combined k-1 class, several years ago and it was a blessig. When he started kindergarten he was undiagnosed, but we were working on a diagnosis. Part way through the year he received the ADHD and Autism diagnosis. Having a second year with a teacher who knew him and what worked didnt work for him was great. The teacher was able to adjust things for him so instead of struggling he succeeded and left 1st grade in a great position to suceed in 2nd grade.

 

[HopperFan]

As someone who's DS has long graduated from the school system and been through some rough stuff ...

My experience was every time DS got a new teacher we pretty much lost half to the whole year on that teacher getting to know my child, understand his speech and quirks, hopefully realize his positive abilities and finally making progress. Honestly feel like he lost years of education just spent "retraining the teacher". I would likely fight (nicely) for him to stay and I highly doubt they can come up with any valid reasoning given he has an IEP, and as you say many SPED students stay with a teacher 2-3 years for the reason you want him to stay. Continuity is important.

 

[leebee]

"Fight" to keep him with the same teacher. She already understands him, his speech patterns, his behaviors. She has had a whole year to figure out how he learns and how to teach him. As HopperFan pointed out, your son will lose a lot of education time because a new teacher will have to learn who he is and how to reach him. Talk to the Sped teacher, talk to the folks on his IEP team. Explain to them why you want your son to stay with the same teacher and get them to help you argue it with the principal.

My daughter's stepson is repeating first grade. He missed 3 months of school last year due to emotional and medical issues. He ended 1st grade with limited math skills and he couldn't read at all. His teacher recommended retaining him and asked to have him in her class again. As she put it, she knows him now, knows his quirks, his triggers, how to make him smile and laugh, how to get him to cooperate. She said that she felt that after the first first grade year, she understood how he learns and how to teach him. Well, it's working. At the beginning of the 3rd quarter, he is on grade level with reading and above grade level in math. His learning this year has been remarkable, a large part of which is due to a remarkable teacher!