Is it ever okay to not let a parent know her child is failing? This situation relates to my own child. He is in the 2nd Grade. I went for parent teacher conferences the other day to be told that my child is going to have a PEP for math. The teacher had all of the worksheets an tests in a folder. He actually got a ZERO on one of the tests. I had never seen the stuff in the folder until this point. I had never been told that he was having problems in math until this point. When I asked why I hadn't been notified, the teacher just looked at me like I was crazy. (This is her first year.) I understand that my child isn't perfect. We do his math homework together, and he does seem to struggle with the material. But, I check his work and re-teach the problem areas. (Or at least I thought I was.) I am taking action, and am e-mailing the teacher weekly from here on out to check on his progress. I do feel partly to blame for this. I guess I always believed no news was good news. NOT THE CASE! I am really thinking about calling the principal and discussing why I hadn't been notified until this point. Do you think this is appropriate? Bright side: He is reading on a 4th grade level.
Is it possible that your son was sent home with information from his teacher and it somehow didn't get to you? It might be why his teacher looked so surprised at your reaction. Sorry if this is, indeed, the case.
Yeah, I am thinking maybe that since it was bad grades maybe your son was scared to show you. I am just saying maybe that is the case.
I would think if the teacher still had the tests, she didn't send them home. If it's true that no efforts were made to notify you of your son's performance, you should be concerned. Did the teacher offer a plan for helping your child learn the difficult material and be more successful in upcoming units? (I don't know what a PEP is?)
NO. She had all of the information in the folder. All of the tests....everything! (I am sure she was keeping it for documentation purposes.) Don't you think she would have said that she sent the information home with him when I asked? I think she thought the PEP was enough of a notice that he is struggling. Either way, I don't think a SECOND GRADE teacher can expect a child to let their parents know he is failing. I check his folder every night, and there was never anything in there. I am just frustrated with the whole situation. Like I said, I will take action and make sure I am checking weekly on his progress. I should have known better.
I am required to send home "graded papers" every Tuesday. I go a little beyond that and print out a "progress report" from our online grading system that I staple to the front of the papers. In addition, any time I put a failing grade (or discipline report) into our grading system, it calls the "official" parent contact number. Unless you are like a bunch of my students' parents and have sometimes as many as 8 cell phone numbers in one school year, I would have no problem at all notifying you of bad grades! In addition, when I have a student that is struggling, I call/email whatever I have to do to reach a parent. That's just part of teaching, lol!
I've had the same cell phone number since college. We don't have a house phone, but my husband's cell number has been the same for at least 5 years. lol
Sometimes there just isn't enough time during the day. Now that you know that this is a problem, you're doing the right thing to maintain regular contact with the teacher for updates on his progress. I'm not sure that contact with the principal is something you should do at this point because it does seem like you have a workable solution in place. If that solution fails, then contact the principal.
Not old school...you should have been notified before DECEMBER regarding concerns over your child's progress.
I'm also wondering what sort of mechanism is in place to notify you of your child's progress. Did you ever receive a report card or progress report? Is there any sort of online grading system that you can access?
Yes she did. Small group instruction, tactile learning, and fewer test questions. She is nice, and I do think she really cares. Perhaps I will just be a grown up and talk to her in person about how I don't think it was in my son's best interest to wait to let me know about his academic progress. I wouldn't like a parent going to the principal on me, and maybe this will help her with other kids. I really get blinders on when I am dealing with my own child. We all want the best for our children.
No online system for elementary. I think the middle school and high schools do have some sort of online system. (I teach in a different county.) We did get a progress report, but they don't get letter grades in 2nd grade in his district. (Letter grades start in 3rd grade.) So, the progress report said, "approaching grade level" in math and writing, and "at grade level" in reading. In my mind, I thought that if you were "approaching grade level" in November, you were doing well.
Our parents have 24/7 access to the online gradebook, and we still send home grade reports every 3 weeks. We don't call for a single F on a test.
"Approaching" is usually the same as a C or D. Exceeds = A Meets = B or C Approaches = C or D Emergent = D or F
Yes, you should have been notified sooner. However, it sounds like you are going to be proactive now and initiate more communication. This first year teacher is lucky to be able to learn from you!
Is it possible that your son was truly approaching grade level with other, previous tests, and the latest was taken shortly before conferences?
If he had been struggling from the beginning definitely I would have notified you probably by mid October. If it showed up in the last few weeks then I might wait till the conference since it is already scheduled. I do not recognize PEP though so I might be missing something.
I would not contact the principal at this point. She's a first year teacher who is nice and cares about the students, as you said. She is probably working her butt off and she surely has a few kids struggling in various subjects. She thought the progress report let you know he was having a bit of difficulty and, since there are so many hours in a day and a point when you have to walk away from work, she likely figured you would contact her if concerned. Now that you do know (what brought this meeting about, by the way?), I would go from here.
I think, as a parent, grandparent, and a teacher, my personal inclination would be to try to set up a conference including the principal, possibly the counselor, and definitely the teacher. I don't mean for the teacher to be confronted - we've all been first year teachers. Instead, I think a round table discussion about what specific steps (small group work is mandatory and too generic for an intervention where I teach) can be taken on both parties' part to help your son. Personally, I HATE reduced number of test questions/problems. If the rest of the class is taking a 12-problem test, and I have to give a "lower" or "struggling" student an 8-problem test (this is hypothetical), then the value per problem is greatly increased, and the student actually has fewer opportunities for correct answers. Using this example and my district's grading scale (even 1st graders get letter grades here), here would be the differences: On a 12-problem test, each problem is worth approximately 8 points out of 100, or 8%. The breakdown is as follows: 12/12 = 100A 11/12 = 92 B 10/12 = 83 C 9/12 = 75 C 8/12 = 67 F On a test with 8 problems, the break down is: 8/8 = 100A 7/8 = 88 B 6/8 = 75 C 5/8 = 63 F I have no problem at all with increased time or reading aloud, etc., but dropping the number of items on a test (when the normal number is generally low anyway) is a risky proposition, in my mind. I'm not fussing at anyone - this is just what I have seen in my own first grade classroom.
I do contact the parents of my 2nd graders if I'm concerned about their performance. HOWEVER - I never send home tests, but do share them at conferences. Tests are usually fairly short, so a few missed problems could make a very ugly percentage grade. I feel that at the primary level, tests should mainly be for me - so I can make instructional decisions.
That is assuming you use the same grading scheme... when you use a grading scheme like we use, (SA - Strong Achievement, AA - Appropriate Achievement, BAA - Below Appropriate Achievement) it is easy to tell if the student is at an appropriate level or not with just a few questions.
I would talk directly to the teacher, not the principal. If you go over her head, she may turn on you or your child. You never know. Just tell her that you want to support her and your child be helping him specifically at home, and that you know she has X number of children to keep up with, but ask her what would be the easiest way for her to keep you posted--emails, notes, phone calls, etc. Put the ball in her court and document your contacts with her. I agree she should have let you know, but as a new teacher, she may not think of that. If you don't have any luck with that approach, then you can rethink. Hope this helps.
My teachers used to send home progress reports if we weren't doing well. This was from 2nd-12th grade. I don't remember K or 1st- I was in a different school district then. In addition to the progress reports if we weren't doing well they would also call just incase they never got the report.
Could you ask for copies of the papers to be sent home if she needs to keep the others for documentation purposes?
I guess things are different in second grade so I can't say if not telling a parent is normal. That being said, I teach 120 6th and 7th graders. I never call home about failing grades unless I am calling about behavior and decide to mention it. I feel that between Progress Reports being issued midway through each quarter and having to update students' grades weekly in our online gradebook (that students and parents have access to), it is the child and parent's responsibility to stay up-to-date. I do not have time to babysit every single child.
I extremely support that a parent has a complete right to know about his ward development, whether he failing or succeeding. A teacher should keep a track report of kids and be in continuous touch with parent either through mail or on call. This is essential for the betterment of the kid.
Right. I have over 140 students. When am I supposed to be writing all of those letters and making all of those phone calls? Before school during all of the meetings I attend? After school during the extracurriculars I sponsor? I contact parents for failing grades, or if a student has made significant growth or done something amazing. This is maybe two or three parent contacts a week, mostly by e-mail. I'd need another planning period or a secretary to do many more than that.
I don't call for every failing grade (or even zeros due to no submission). I don't have time for it. But students that are old enough to be one of 100 (middle school, high school) are old enough to take responsibility for their own grades. Between the progress reports and online system, no teacher should feel guilty for a parent not knowing what is going on. In my class, you'd have to be a really slack parent to not know how your child is doing academically. And a slack parent isn't likely to make a difference if he/she did know, anyhow. At Open House (which few attend but everyone is invited by letter AND phone call from the system) I announce that I'd like everyone's email address. I ask for it on my website. I have a blank line for it on the info sheet I send home the first day of school. If I don't have one for a parent I look it up on the computer system. Then I send out mass emails for everyone in each class, which includes telling them about progress reports. You have to try to be unavailable in my class.
I send out every test to be reviewed and signed. As a parent, I don't want a surprise as the bimester ends and grades close. It's not fair, and it doesn't help the student. If a child is struggling, the parent needs to be notified and intervention needs to take place.
FYI, on our report cards, if you're "approaching grade level standards" -- you're behind! VERY few students get a grade that low.
Our grades are on a grade book site...If I had my way we wouldn't send home report cards or progress reports. If you really wanted to check on your child's grade you can anytime. All our parents have Internet assess...or at least my parents do!
