Dread of August: The Kids' Teacher Assignments As parents worry their kids will get stuck with a dud, more schools are trying to limit their input.

Sue Shellenbarger:

August brings high anxiety for many parents awaiting big news for fall: Who will be their child's teacher? Will it be someone creative and inspiring? Or will they get stuck with a burnout, a bore or a scary drill-sergeant type?

Now, that angst is being further intensified by a combination of factors, including a less experienced teacher pool, faster gossip grapevines and schools' increased strategies to limit parents' involvement in the teacher-placement process.

In fact, school officials are sending a strong message to parents: Don't ask. A growing number of principals hold parents at bay by sending questionnaires in the spring that ask for general information about a child, but prohibit requesting a specific teacher. More principals are skipping parent input altogether, setting firm policies that teacher assignments are up to the school.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at August 7, 2013 2:33 AM
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