I have met with the school about “next year” more times than I can remember. I have found that the end of the year is busy and many principals and teachers want to finish this year. They are tired. I was tired too! The problem with waiting until fall is the teachers are busy getting their rooms together and don’t have time to meet with you then either. There is no perfect time but I have found spring to be much better than fall.
I often start with the principal or counselor. In this initial meeting, we talk about how the year has gone. We discuss the selection of next year’s teacher. We talk about qualities that are needed, things that need to be different and other things that we want to keep the same. At that meeting we talk about other children who might be great classmates and some that aren’t. At the end of the meeting, I usually request another meeting toward the beginning of May that includes specials teachers, current teacher and all possible teachers for next year.
At the May meeting, I share things from my perspective. The current teacher and specials teachers share from their experience. I also request a top 10 from the teachers who had my son this year. This list is 10 things to do and 10 things NOT to do with my son at school. This little list is so helpful for the teachers next year. You may request they bring this to the meeting. It would be great to keep a copy of these sheets from year to year in the school counselors office. They are accessible to anyone in the school at anytime that way.
This is just one more way to be proactive and work as a team with your school!
