Intro from Your Child's Teacher

Most of our teachers reserve their introduction and curriculum for Back To School night (open house, curriculum night, etc). I would assume that you'll get plenty of information then. I suspect it's perhaps less urgent since with older kids we've been in school before (kinder and 1st it's all so new) so they're really digging in and getting the kids into a routine. Definitely write down all the questions you have going in, and make sure they get answered with her presentation and paperwork.

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Every teacher is different. I. too, have had teachers who wait til parent night, usually 3rd week of school, to pass out info.

:)

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The more information, the better. any chance it's sitting in your child's desk, locker, garbage can? LOL
As a mother of a boy that assumes I know what goes on in school via brain-to-brain osmosis, those letters, policies and schedules are like liquid gold to me!
Can you email the teacher and ask if it was misplaced? We usually get all that stuff the first day or two.

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Once they are in the higher grades, I know the teachers like to go over a lot of these things at Back to school night, so they can answer questions.

It is a good way to get parents to attend also. They will send the handouts home the next day with the children that parents were unable to attend.

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All I can suggest is that you check your second-grader's backpack first. Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and I was a kid, very little teacher communication ever got to my mother if it had to be sent through me. I simply didn't think it could possibly be important, so wrapped up as I was in myself, and the notes never made it home. My mother was frequently surprised to find out she was supposed to bring three dozen cupcakes to school the next morning, or when she got a call from the school about the money she was supposed to have sent with me that day. The notes were crammed in the back of my desk, usually along with three sweaters and four jackets. I don't know how I lived to grow up.

On the other hand, it wouldn't hurt if you gave the teacher a call or an e-mail or whatever you can use, introduce yourself, say you're new, and ask about the communications. He or she will be glad to hear from you and will tell you what you need to know.

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I don't remember receiving anything from my sons teachers even in Kindergarten, so I think you just got lucky with the previous teachers. You have to realize with budget cuts there are more demands on our teachers so although an introduction letter is nice he may not have had time to do one. Soon there will be open house so you can see what your child is doing. I'm sure she can tell you what her schedule is. Also there are parent teacher conferences usually in November but you can contact the teacher and schedule one at anytime.

I don't think you have anything to worry about unless your daughter communicates things to you that don't sound correct.

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my daughter is in 1st grade and we have never had a teacher send any kind of note home like that. You go and meet the teacher before school starts and then there is back to school night when you can ask questions and get to know the teacher more.

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She'll probably give you this information on parent night. I think that is essentially what parent nights are for: the parents can meet the teacher; the teacher explains expectations and the parents can address any unanswered questions at the end of parent night.

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I would ask the teacher when you see her next or email her since all the other teachers provided these introductions. It could be that they were handed out, but it's now at the bottom of the desk covered up with half-used pencils or got mangled in your child's backpack. Do you have a folder for such info to/from school? We had to do that with SD because otherwise we'd get information (if we got it at all) that looked like it'd been through the war and sometimes permission slips were almost unreadable.

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This doesn't sound completely unreasonable if your open house/meet the teacher night hasn't happened yet. Perhaps she feels it is easier to go over her procedures when she meets parents face to face. As your children get older the procedures can look different from those first younger grades when kids are just learning the ropes of school in general. If after you meet with the teacher and you don't feel she has given you a clear cut way to communicate information with her. Just ask what is the best way to contact her to answer all the questions you may have. I am sure you can establish a way to create lines of communication with her that will benefit your child's needs this year.
HTH,
A.

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Did they not have any open house days or nights before the start of school? Has there been a PTA meeting where you could have met and asked the teacher questions? If you want to know a detailed schedule and class expectations, email her (most schools publish school emails for teachers now), call the school and leave a message for her -or call her directly if you have that number. If this past week was your first week of school, I wouldn't think too much of it. Maybe she wanted to get a feel for her students before deciding exactly how everything would be done all year. I do think it's your responsibility to inquire of her or the school about what your child's schedule is -or, since the child is in second grade -ask your child!

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Each teacher handles communication with parents differently, there isn't one standard way. Apparently the teachers you've dealt with in the past preferred to get the info to you on the first day of school, this one is more than likely waiting until Back-to-School night. If she doesn't bring it up then, that's the perfect time for you to.

Always remember you have the school's number and can call anytime and leave a message for the teacher to contact you so you can discuss any concerns or questions you have.

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As your children get older, you will get less and less letters like that from teachers. Open house will become your opportunity to meet your children's teachers, then you can always set up conferences with them, and use email to communicate.

You can contact the administrative office and request a copy of your daughter's schedule so you know what classes she has when.

My son is in high school now, and while they have an open house the first semester and I can meet his teachers, when the second semester begins in January and his classes change - I will not meet the teachers unless I request a conference.

As our children get older they become used to the rules in school, are better able to communicate about their day to their parents, and taught to be more self sufficient. It is a natural progression and not indicative of poor teaching when the hand holding and letters home decrease.

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I would not expect anything until Open House. At that point we get to meet the teacher, hear what the kids day is like, and what the expectations are for the year. Our open house is held the 2nd week of school which gives the kids and teacher a chance to get settled in and get to know one another. If you have concerns before then you should call the school and leave a message for the teacher to call you.

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Maybe she's a little busier and a little slower getting her letters out, or maybe she will be passing them out on the night y'all meet up. I'd talk to her THAT night.

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The teacher may not know one's expected of her. Or the principal told her to do such letter and she didn't. Ask her for one. Say "I got these letters from the other teachers. DId you write one too and I just missed it?" Could be that she accidentally skipped your daugther when passing them out. Could be that she forgot to pass them out. Could be that she has never written such letters and doesn't know that parents like them. Ask her.

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I don't think you really have enough information to determine that this is a bad teacher. Instead, why don't you just be proactive and ask to schedule a meeting? A good teacher may or may not engage in proactive outreach to parents, but a good teacher will always welcome a concerned, engaged parent.

Give it another week. If nothing, then call or email her requesting a schedule. Then stack up your questions and get answers at the orientation.

Perhaps your child's teacher will distribute more information at back to school night. My kids are older, 12 and 16 now, and I work in an elementary school. You may find that as kids get older, you get less info. Kids know the routines of school and expected behavior. Why do you need to know when your child goes to music? I understand needing to know when the library books are due back, but when your child comes home with a new book you'll know it was library day. Lack of introductory letter doesn't make for a bad teacher as an isolated thing. Also, does the teacher have a website? Yes, even some elementary schools have websites set up by individual teachers, so they may put info up there. When my kids were in kindy, a lot of info came home, less after that and I found that many teachers handed things out at curriculum night, which is the 2nd or 3rd week of school. Good luck

I actually got a letter from my daughter's 3rd grade teacher (she is new to the school district). I was pleasantly surprised because I hadn't gotten letters like that in her past grades. We have twins in 1st grade. One teacher sent a letter to our house the week before school, the other didn't send anything. We do have a back to school night in less than 2 weeks, so I always expect to get relevant info at that time. And, as others said, usually when the kids get older, you get less and less info.

Most schools have a website. The list are there now. I would look for it there.. As far as what she expects, I am sure back to school night this subject will come up. :)