nwmr: would this put you off about a school?

semdkm

We live in a small k--8 district, 400 kids, one school, one principal-***-superintendent-***-king-of-universe.  The test results in the "district" (one school) are not too impressive given the funding in the district, parent involvement, etc., there really isn't a good excuse to see 25% of the kids only "partially proficient" (students with learning disabilities NOT included in that) in things like reading and writing in fourth grade, math, etc.  For this and a number of other reasons, we're considering switching our child to another school while she's still very young (she's finishing K now). I asked to meet with the superintendent (who was standing there when I was addressing him and then he walked out of the room for me to deal with his secretary-***-keeper) to discuss things like district test results, etc., and I was looked at as if I had 12 heads and then told he wasn't free to meet with me until June.  UMMM?? What?  June???

Would you be put off by this (the annoyance over my wanting to discuss something so important and the fact I have to wait weeks for access to the man whose handsome salary I hope to pay)?

MomtobeNJ

Ummm...June is 2 weeks away. Given that we're nearing the end of the school year, which is an extremely busy time, I don't think it's unreasonable that he might be booked solid for the next few weeks.

christinak22

I'm guessing there's no one a step below him that would be able to help you since it's a small district, right? That's irritating. I'm not looking forward to dealing with school! Mine's just starting preschool in the fall.

jf198400

MomtobeNJ:

Ummm...June is 2 weeks away. Given that we're nearing the end of the school year, which is an extremely busy time, I don't think it's unreasonable that he might be booked solid for the next few weeks.

I agree with this.

honkytonk_kid

What were you expecting? I mean... he's the principal and superintendent and it's the end of the school year, and you were, what? Wanting to walk right in to his office to chat? Like pp said, June is 2 weeks away. That's completely reasonable.

ridesbuttons

Well, June is in 2 weeks.  End of school year is notoriously busy for those in the education business so....

I am a bit puzzled why you need to meet with the superintendent in order to enroll your child into a school.  And, if it is a public school, the information should be posted somewhere you can access yourself.

Also, there are a lot of **** and ----- and ()()()() in your post.  It is hard to read.

honeybee111

Based on what you wrote, no, I would not be put off by that.  I'm a teacher, and I agree with the others that this time of year is crazy for us.  We're dealing with end of the year assessments, report cards, class building for next year, promotion for the 6th graders, kinder registration, etc.  Also, at my school, if you want to talk to the principal, you have to make an appt. the secretary anyways.  The principal might be available right then and there, but maybe he had a meeting to go to or something else to deal with.  If this is a public school, you can find test score info online.  Also, test scores are one factor to look at - and state standards/testing are changing anyways with everyone moving to common core, so that's something else to consider, too.

SummerOH

Ditto PPs.  I'm not a teacher and even I understand that the end of the school year is busy and hectic.  June is only 2 weeks away.  You can wait.  Why is your hair on fire?  You have plenty of time to discuss this before your LO will be enrolled there.  Just because he was standing there at the time doesn't mean he has the ability to drop everything and answer all of your questions.  An appointment in 2 weeks seems completely reasonable to me.  I'm sure the other parents who are "paying his handsome salary" (seriously? like you PERSONALLY are paying his salary?) would much prefer he spend his time on CURRENT students, especially when there's 3 months for him to talk to prospective students' parents before the start of the next year.

Mjmksb04

It seems like you already have a bad attitude about the school (justifiably or not), so why not switch and save this guy's time? I work in public service and am extremely turned off by your attitude that you" pay his salary." (which is a completely ridiculous statement to make). That is rude and condescending and I am sure your attitude came off and that could be why he isn't bending over backwards to meet with you..

mben1119

MomtobeNJ:

Ummm...June is 2 weeks away. Given that we're nearing the end of the school year, which is an extremely busy time, I don't think it's unreasonable that he might be booked solid for the next few weeks.

This.

dragon_chica

semdkm:

Would you be put off by this (the annoyance over my wanting to discuss something so important and the fact I have to wait weeks for access to the man whose handsome salary I hope to pay)?

Seriously?  Thank God you're not "paying" my teaching salary.  I would not want to deal with you as a parent if this is the sort of attitude you are conveying. 

Ditto everyone else.  We have parents registering their Kinders all the way up until the first day of school.  You have plenty of time.  And like another pp said, test scores don't always reflect the dedication and hard work that teachers, staff, and admin put into the school.  You should focus more on the school climate.  How supportive is the principal with his/her teachers?  How strong is the PTA?  And keep in mind that parent involvement is a huge factor in a child's success so those test scores also reflect home life.  A teacher can do all that she can do but in the end she's only with that kid amongst 20-30 other kids for 30 hours a week.  Parents are the child's first teachers and should be their last.