04/05/2002

Parent Underground

Q: I am a first-year teacher at a school that has many well-established teachers. People rarely move into or out of this town, so the students are often the children of past students. Our principal allows parent requests for specific teacher assignments, and these requests are honored over all other considerations. I see a serious problem occurring because of this.

Basically, we have tracked our kids for the haves and the have-nots. Our English language learners (English as a second language) are from homes that don't know such requests occur. Many requests are made based on rumors and the desires of children. I could go on at length about a practice that I believe is hurting children and serious teachers like myself who are committed to high quality academic instruction for all children.

My background: private school, graduate of U.C. Berkeley, idealist.

My school: small town mentality, few educated parents, teachers from second-rate schools, brand new principal.

I would like to hear your views on whether or not classes in an elementary school should be put together based on parent requests.

A: You find yourself in a community with a powerful parent underground, made more powerful when a new principal comes in and accepts doing things the way parents tell him or her "they have always been done."

Parent groups exist in every community and can undermine school policies if parental views aren't perceived as valuable. Newcomers often know nothing about parental cliques that shut them out of the decision-making process.

Principals need to create policies that welcome parent involvement. The policy should state that parent concerns and requests will be taken into consideration when making placement and other decisions about each child. Principals who discourage such communication wind up inadvertently 'feeding' the underground networks that form as a result.

A veteran teacher told me how the principal in her building handles requests for specific teachers.

"Our parents can request a certain teacher," she said, "and, if possible, we honor their requests. We ask the parent to put the request in writing to the principal. We explain to the parent that we need to look at the class composite of each new group. We consider such variables as: gender balance, academic range and behavior/personality mix, being careful to separate children who have a history of not getting along. Fortunately we have several classes at each grade level, so we can honor most requests. Final decisions are made by the principal."

True parent involvement in the schools, the kind that makes every parent feel welcome and gives each of them an active role in the school community, takes dedication to that goal from everyone in the building. It isn't enough to create policies and talk platitudes. When the entire professional staff looks for ways to involve every parent in a meaningful way in the educational program for his or her child, no parent is an isolated outsider. You, as a teacher, can help establish and directly contribute to that goal with the parent(s) of each child in your classes.

***

Links:

Parent Power: http://www.edreform.com/parentpower/

Parent Success: http://www.parentsuccess.com/ptahelp.php3

***

Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.