Every year about this time, the staff and I begin to hear from some parents who want to request a specific teacher or have a special request regarding the classroom placement for their child for the upcoming school year.
Woodbury recognizes that parents do have valuable information which could assist in the class placement of their child. Examples of this may be:
- an unsatisfactory experience between an older child and a teacher
- neighborhood problems that may necessitate the separation of two children
- description of the traits and characteristics present in a teacher that your child responds to best
We also recognize that parents sometimes have preferences for teachers and may request a specific teacher for their child. Although your request is reviewed, little consideration is given to specific teacher requests. We cannot place children in classes based only on parent preferences or a teacher’s reputation in the community. Please keep in mind that staffing changes often occur from year to year. This includes teachers that may not return to teach at Woodbury, new and additional teachers that may be added, and teachers changing grade levels. We group children for instructional purposes, and placing them in classes for other factors would defeat those purposes. Although not guaranteed, requests that include multiple class placement choices have a better chance of being accommodated. Parent requests asking for their child to not be placed in a class that includes a specific population of students, a certain classroom composition, or a combination classroom are given no consideration.
In summary, most parents do not request specific teachers for their child or have any additional information to give us, and leave it to us to place their child in an appropriate classroom. However, if you have a specific request or pertinent information related to the classroom placement of your child for next school year, please communicate your request in writing or email to Mr. Battenfield before May 19th, 2017.