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This may not be the proper area to post this thread? possibly education, however I am looking for opinions from other parents....
My child is in Kindergarten. I am a "first time" school parent, meaning that this is my oldest going to school for the first time, so I am not a seasoned parent when it comes to issues that are dealt with at school
My child's class has had her teacher as well as an instructional aide. Right after Easter, I started noticing in the afternoons when I pick my child up, that her regular aide wasn't walking the children out. It seemed to be someone different for awhile, then there was someone who seemed to be more consistent, however now, someone new again.
Finally, I asked my kindergartner where her aide was and she said she doesn't know... I asked who the woman was that walked them out "today" and again-she doesn't know.
I have heard through the school grape vine that they think that the regular aide left.
My question is, would you expect your child's school to communicate this to you as the parents?
I do and am upset that nothing has been sent home.
I am almost certain that those parents who have their children riding the bus home and are not at the school at all, don't even know that the aide is not there and that there is possibly a rotation of people in the classroom (as it appears to be right now).
Our children are in school for 7+ hours a day, I think we have a right to know who is in the classroom with them.
I am not looking for a reason as to why the aide may have left,certainly none of my business. I would just like to see a simple communication sent home stating that the aide has left and in the interim there will be substitutes in the classroom with their teacher. Something so that the parents know what is going on in the classroom.
I hesitate going to her teacher because quite honestly, her teacher doesn't seem to handle parents very well. She can't look outside of the box and she seems to be inexperienced when dealing with the parents. My child seems very comfortable with her though.
Just looking for opinions, would you expect this to be communicated and would you ask the teacher what was going on?
If this were the actual teacher, then I'd expect communication about it, however with someone who is an aide, I would not.
Aides are there in a supporting role to the teacher and not expected to take on major roles/responsibility in the class. Paid aides are not usually required to be degreed and are not paid on the same level as teachers. Many times, in Kindergarten, a school district will have volunteer aides if the budget doesn't allow a paid position. Often this ends up being a parent or grandparent of a student. No matter who the aide is, they should be going through a background check before becoming a staff member, paid or not paid.
Personally if I were concerned about consistency of who is walking the children out, I would have asked directly as soon as I noticed. If I was concerned about who was in the classroom during the day, then I'd be volunteering in the class so I can see what's going on myself.
My district doesn't have Kindergarten aides at all.
If this were the actual teacher, then I'd expect communication about it, however with someone who is an aide, I would not.
Aides are there in a supporting role to the teacher and not expected to take on major roles/responsibility in the class. Paid aides are not usually required to be degreed and are not paid on the same level as teachers. Many times, in Kindergarten, a school district will have volunteer aides if the budget doesn't allow a paid position. Often this ends up being a parent or grandparent of a student. No matter who the aide is, they should be going through a background check before becoming a staff member, paid or not paid.
Personally if I were concerned about consistency of who is walking the children out, I would have asked directly as soon as I noticed. If I was concerned about who was in the classroom during the day, then I'd be volunteering in the class so I can see what's going on myself.
My district doesn't have Kindergarten aides at all.
Hi,
Thanks for your response, as crititcal as it was.
My post wasn't about the fact that we have an aide in the classroom or not, it doesn't matter to me whether other districts,schools,etc... have aides or not, we are fortunate to have them.
The fact that the aides get paid less,etc has absolutely no bearing on my question. I am well aware that the aides don't get paid as much as the teachers, that they don't have to have degrees. It really just has no relevance to my question though.
You did partly answer by saying that you would have asked right away. Possibly I should have,however I did think that maybe the regular aide was just ill or away for a longer break. I was giving her teacher the benefit of the doubt.
Yes, you are also right that if I volunteered in the classroom I would know what was going on. I am as involved as I can be in my daughter's school with a 2 year old at home. I cannot volunteer as I would LOVE to do, I cannot bring my 2 year old with me to volunteer and we live in a new area, don't have babysitters-sorry. Please don't assume that I am not an involved parent as your post did imply.
I do the best I can do to be involved. I have been able to go on a field trip to chaperone (my husband took a vacay day so I could do that and stayed with our 2 yr old). I donate for all kinds of functions that go on and have volunteered at school events on the weekends. I think for a new parent to the school as well as to the area, I have certainly done my share.
Again though, that isn't what this post was about.
Looking for others opinions,yes,I realize that with this post (as with all others) I will get a varied form of answers, I just felt that this particular one was implying that I haven't done my share to find out what is going on.
No, I would not expect communication from the school. Like the previous poster said, aides come and go frequently and yes, you are lucky to have one since many schools have eliminated them. This aide might just be a sub and until they have someone permanent hired they aren't going to send out a notice every time they get a new sub.
As a seasoned parent let me give you some advice, you are going to experience a lot of things in the school you may or may not like. If you run to the school every time you are going to have issues you are going to be in for a LONG school career with your children. You need to trust the schools to do the right thing and for the most part they will. Save your complaints for the serious things.
It is quite possible that this aide has been with the school for 20 years and is fabulous but just got transfered to that class. Maybe this aide has been working with the class all year, just not with your DD. Honestly, there are a LOT of people that work in the schools that you have probably never met.
Another piece of advice, don't take your DD's word over anything until you get both sides of the story. Just because your DD doesn't know who she is doesn't mean she hasn't been there. Also, your DD will come home with some interesting stories about things that happen in school, chances are they aren't true. Keep in mind that those interesting stories go the other way too and the teachers know well enough not to believe most of what their students tell them.
No, I would not expect communication from the school. Like the previous poster said, aides come and go frequently and yes, you are lucky to have one since many schools have eliminated them. This aide might just be a sub and until they have someone permanent hired they aren't going to send out a notice every time they get a new sub.
As a seasoned parent let me give you some advice, you are going to experience a lot of things in the school you may or may not like. If you run to the school every time you are going to have issues you are going to be in for a LONG school career with your children. You need to trust the schools to do the right thing and for the most part they will. Save your complaints for the serious things.
It is quite possible that this aide has been with the school for 20 years and is fabulous but just got transfered to that class. Maybe this aide has been working with the class all year, just not with your DD. Honestly, there are a LOT of people that work in the schools that you have probably never met.
Another piece of advice, don't take your DD's word over anything until you get both sides of the story. Just because your DD doesn't know who she is doesn't mean she hasn't been there. Also, your DD will come home with some interesting stories about things that happen in school, chances are they aren't true. Keep in mind that those interesting stories go the other way too and the teachers know well enough not to believe most of what their students tell them.
As another seasoned parent...I agree!
You can't expect a teacher to give notice to every parent each time and aide comes or goes...they would never have time to teach!
Welcome to the world of school aged kids!
This may not be the proper area to post this thread? possibly education, however I am looking for opinions from other parents....
My child is in Kindergarten. I am a "first time" school parent, meaning that this is my oldest going to school for the first time, so I am not a seasoned parent when it comes to issues that are dealt with at school
My child's class has had her teacher as well as an instructional aide. Right after Easter, I started noticing in the afternoons when I pick my child up, that her regular aide wasn't walking the children out. It seemed to be someone different for awhile, then there was someone who seemed to be more consistent, however now, someone new again.
Finally, I asked my kindergartner where her aide was and she said she doesn't know... I asked who the woman was that walked them out "today" and again-she doesn't know.
I have heard through the school grape vine that they think that the regular aide left.
My question is, would you expect your child's school to communicate this to you as the parents?
I do and am upset that nothing has been sent home.
I am almost certain that those parents who have their children riding the bus home and are not at the school at all, don't even know that the aide is not there and that there is possibly a rotation of people in the classroom (as it appears to be right now).
Our children are in school for 7+ hours a day, I think we have a right to know who is in the classroom with them.
I am not looking for a reason as to why the aide may have left,certainly none of my business. I would just like to see a simple communication sent home stating that the aide has left and in the interim there will be substitutes in the classroom with their teacher. Something so that the parents know what is going on in the classroom.
I hesitate going to her teacher because quite honestly, her teacher doesn't seem to handle parents very well. She can't look outside of the box and she seems to be inexperienced when dealing with the parents. My child seems very comfortable with her though.
Just looking for opinions, would you expect this to be communicated and would you ask the teacher what was going on?
Thanks so much.
This is your first little one in school and I feel for you. You have the right as a parent to question anything that goes on with your child in school as far as I'm concerned and if it makes you feel better, a quick phone call or send a little note to school with your little one with your questions is absolutely appropriate. Kindergarten was the toughest transition for me as a parent, but I promise you, it does get easier. Good luck!
Your concern should be for the safety of your child. As long as there is an aide walking your child out (to you or to the bus), your child should be okay. As the other posters have said, some of these aids are parent volunteers so there is quite a rotation going on. I would suggest getting the teacher's e-mail and just popping in a question about your concerns in general. Most of them reply and are happy to see parents involved. That way, you don't have to have a face-to-face if neither one of you are comfortable doing that, and you will give the teacher the time she needs to reply to you appropriately. Your daughter is very young and should really not be trusted to relay information accurately.
My first question is does your child go to public or private school? The reason I ask is if it is private then you should demand a higher standard of care and absolutely you should be informed about any change in care provider for your child.
Public school is a little different. It really depends on the teacher and the administration. I taught 3rd grade for several years. Mostly because I am a parent myself I would always send little notes home letting parents know what was going on in the classroom. I would even send a note home if I was out for a day and let them know what was going on. However, this was a choice that I made as a teacher, there were plenty of other teachers in my building who preferred to keep parents in the dark.
Also, just because your daughter says she doesn't know the aides name doesn't mean she wasn't told the name. My 5 year old often says I don't know when she is to busy with other things to be bothered answering me. I also find, as a seasoned parent and teacher, that teachers who are not married and don't yet have children have a more difficult time communicating with parents.
My best advice to you is that if you have concerns you should absolutely express them to your child's teacher. Approach him/her in a non accusatory tone and ask. If you don't feel like your questions are answered to your satisfaction then go to the principal. That is what they are there for.
I wouldn't expect them to tell me if an aide had changed, just if there was a change in the teacher. However, if you are concerned, you should not feel one bit bad about asking about the aides and how the situation is dealt with. The school should not withhold info in you make an inquiry. If they do, then you should send a letter to the school board and request a direct reply.
My post wasn't about the fact that we have an aide in the classroom or not, it doesn't matter to me whether other districts,schools,etc... have aides or not, we are fortunate to have them.
The fact that the aides get paid less,etc has absolutely no bearing on my question. I am well aware that the aides don't get paid as much as the teachers, that they don't have to have degrees. It really just has no relevance to my question though.
You did partly answer by saying that you would have asked right away. Possibly I should have,however I did think that maybe the regular aide was just ill or away for a longer break. I was giving her teacher the benefit of the doubt.
Yes, you are also right that if I volunteered in the classroom I would know what was going on. I am as involved as I can be in my daughter's school with a 2 year old at home. I cannot volunteer as I would LOVE to do, I cannot bring my 2 year old with me to volunteer and we live in a new area, don't have babysitters-sorry. Please don't assume that I am not an involved parent as your post did imply.
I do the best I can do to be involved. I have been able to go on a field trip to chaperone (my husband took a vacay day so I could do that and stayed with our 2 yr old). I donate for all kinds of functions that go on and have volunteered at school events on the weekends. I think for a new parent to the school as well as to the area, I have certainly done my share.
Again though, that isn't what this post was about.
Looking for others opinions,yes,I realize that with this post (as with all others) I will get a varied form of answers, I just felt that this particular one was implying that I haven't done my share to find out what is going on.
My post was not intended as critical, my apologies.
I guess I should have started off with...I am a parent of 4 and have been a parent for 26 years now with a 26, 21, 10 and 5 yr old. I am also an early childhood professional and the oldest two are teachers in public schools. I was on the executive board of the PTA at my 10 yr old's school for 3 years.
So...I am well seasoned.
Your concern was about communication about the status of an aide and my response was exactly about that. I explained what role an aide takes in hopes that would help you understand that it's not something to be expecting communication on. All of the staff are entwined in the workings of the school, however many of them are just not pertinent to any one child's education. That's the point.
If I wanted to be critical, I would have said this the first time....as a first time parent you will do more harm to the school experience by listening to the grapevine about things instead of asking a simple question. All it would have taken was at pick up to say to the different aide...are you the new aide? My daughter is 'insert name' and you have solved the problem yourself without any further worries. You can still do that the next time you see this aide, a simple introduction goes a long way and likely will make that person feel a little more recognized too.
Also, when my 10 yr old was in Kindergarten my son was only a few months old. I still managed to know the kids and what all was going on because I made it a priority to do it as much as I could with my limitations of having a baby. I walked my daughter into school daily so I could greet the teacher and the kids as they came in. I also went on field trips. I attended the PTA meetings and then joined the board so I knew what all was going on in the school in general. I came into the school while class was still in session just before dismissal time and chatted with the office staff. That also gave me the opportunity to interact with the parents and teachers after the kids came out. Let me tell you the gossip abounds among the parents, and being in the school helped me to keep it clear instead of letting my imagination run away with me. You just have to work on it the best way possible for you.
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You have the right as a parent to question anything that goes on with your child in school as far as I'm concerned and if it makes you feel better, a quick phone call or send a little note to school with your little one with your questions is absolutely appropriate. Kindergarten was the toughest transition for me as a parent, but I promise you, it does get easier. Good luck!
