Requesting a Teacher for Kindergarten

Updated on May 20, 2011
C.M. asks from Denton, TX
14 answers

Next year, my daughter will be in public kindergarten. We have toured the school many times and have met several of the teachers. A couple teachers I really like, others-not so much. Is there any way to request a teacher? I'm new to this public school stuff and would like for it to be the best experience possible :-)

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So What Happened?

Well, too bad. One mom below mentioned that Denton Isd has a non-request policy. I personally don't see anything wrong with parents requesting certain teachers. A teacher that is requested a lot would mean that she is a good teacher. One that isn't requested means she probably isn't good. There is a huge shortage of teaching positions right now, so with the small amount of teachers left teaching, it would be great if the good ones were the ones teaching.

I will not step back from my child's education. Education is very important to me and I will be there every step of the way to make sure she gets the best education possible. I can't afford the wonderful schools my parents sent me to, so I am doing the best I can to get my daughter a good education in other ways.

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

No.

If they let you do that, then they have to let ALL the other parents do that too.
MOST schools, do not allow that, for that reason.
I have tried at my daughter's school... contacting and writing the Principal myself. But they don't allow it.

But ultimately, you just go with the flow.
It is also good for the child, to learn this.

My daughter goes to public school. A blue ribbon public school. All the Teachers are good. Different personalities and styles, but mostly all good.

You just gotta have faith, in the Teacher.
And, keep a rapport with her/him.

all the best,
Susan

3 moms found this helpful

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M.M.

answers from Washington DC on

Let me tell you what happened to us.

I met a "wonderful" teacher while my oldest was a preschooler. I requested her and he was put in her class. She even had awards and accolades for being so good. I was elated.
Come to find out she had a K-1 program. She tried to teach the children Japanese and all about the Japanese society, in kindergarten.
Her teaching style was very Montesorian, not bad for some kids. Just not mine.
MIne was not taught the basics of HOW to read, just what the words said. She didnt; believe in Phonics. I found out in the middle of the year. She had no real discipline for difficult students, She thought counting in Japanese was more beneficial than counting in English and she missed some very key days, Valentine's Day being one, for some award in DC.
She scoffed at parents who were "difficult", that woud be me, because I wanted to see academic porogress and there seemed to be none.
She was not Japanese, she was awarded a grant for this program which in the end, after 5 years, was deemed a failure.

THE teacher that all the parents were scared of and warned me against had every one of her students reading at a 2nd grade level in Kinder. She had them all hitting their benchmarks and higher. She was a strict disciplinarian. Her children were organized and well behaved, as organized and well behaved as a 5 yo can be, much more so than our class. At the beginning of the year I was so happy to not get the "schoolmarm" and get the Japan class. What a mistake.

Since that time I have not requested any teachers for my kids. We have had some doozies and we have had some of the best teachers I have ever known. I let the schools piick my kinder teachers then I worked very closely with the K teacher to get the best fit for 1st grade. After my first fiasco I taught all my kids to read, count over 100 and add before Kinder.
I now homeschool my two youngest.

5 moms found this helpful
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B.

answers from Augusta on

you'd have to look up in your district to see if that's allowed. It isn't allowed in our district. Can you imagine what would happen if everyone requested a certain teacher?

4 moms found this helpful
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A..

answers from Kansas City on

You never know if your kid will like the teacher or not until you give it a try. Some of my best teachers were teachers that I did not like at first.

3 moms found this helpful
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M.R.

answers from Chicago on

Take a deep breath, mom, and start learning to let go a little bit! You're not going to be able to control everything about your child's life and that definitely includes school.

You never know. The teachers you may not have gotten a good impression of might actually be the top teachers, motivating your daughter to love learning and establish great feelings about school. The teachers you liked at a first glance might just be really good at sucking up to the visitors and be all showy.

We all want what is best for our kids and there's nothing wrong with starting to let your daughter learn how to work with many different people outside of your watchful eye. Empower her to make the best of whatever situation she is in using the tools and skills she has.

3 moms found this helpful
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P.K.

answers from New York on

Not really. Most schools do not allow it. Give your child and the teacher
a chance.

2 moms found this helpful

B.K.

answers from Chicago on

You really can't know a teacher and how she/he teaches based on visiting the school and talking to others.

We aren't able to request at our school. But there still is talk about who is a good teacher and who is a bad teacher in each grade. Several years my daughter has gotten the "bad" teacher. And you know what? She ended up loving every one of them. They were all different and had some good attributes and bad ones -- just like everybody in the world. Kids have to learn how to deal with those differences. It's part of life.

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D.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

In our school you can't do that. We can request a child does NOT get a certain teacher, but you cannot request a specific O..

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R.S.

answers from San Antonio on

At our school you can't request a specific teacher by name but you can write a letter letting the principle know what type/kind of teacher your child would do best in their classroom.

I went on the teacher's website that I wanted my son to have and used very specific things to make it known she was the one I wanted for my son.

He was put in her class and it has been a great kindergarten year...I am so glad I took the time to write the letter.

1 mom found this helpful
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J.W.

answers from Dallas on

What school are you looking at? Denton ISD has a non-request policy. In other words you can ask that he not have up to 2 teachers, but you can not specifically request one. You can do the same thing with students. My kids have gone to Gennings and Wilson.

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M.3.

answers from Chicago on

Some schools due allow requests some schools don't. When I taught Kdg. the school I taught at did allow it. You could contact the principal and make a request. My son is starting Kdg. this year at a school in a different town. At his school they do not allow requests. You can call the school and ask...won't hurt to try. Good luck. :)

1 mom found this helpful
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M.D.

answers from Minneapolis on

Wow I guess I am lucky, I live in one of the largest school districts in MN and I can make any kind of request and as long as I do it before a certain date they do it, for us it is more of keeping my twins together right now (they are only 5 and for personal reasons and sanity reasons my husband and I want them together for a few years).

1 mom found this helpful
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L.P.

answers from Dallas on

Here is my advice going forward, someone else mentioned it too. Toward the end of next school year talk to his current K teacher and find out from her which 1st grade she would reccomend for. At our school we are not allowed to request a teacher by name, but we can list characteristics in a teacher that we want. So when my son was moving from 1st to 2nd grade I said he really likes Science and wanted a teacher strong in Science. I did this knowing that the teacher I wanted him to have also runs the Science Fair at our school. For the move to 3rd grade I have not asked for anyone specific, rather that I need a teacher that is going to challenge. I am leaving that up to the powers that to be to choose the correct teacher for him.

If your school asks for library volunteers then I strongly encourage you to go volunteer for a few first grade classes a few times during the year. I could not be there for my son's first grade class but I volunteered for a second grade class instead. I really got to know the teacher that way and saw how she was with the kids.

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H.O.

answers from Dallas on

Talk with the counselor of the school, would be the first step. However, my suggestion is to see who your child gets first. Wait it out a week. Just because a teacher seems flaky, does not mean they are a bad teacher. My kids have been lucky, getting really awesome teachers so far.

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