Changing The Chemistry

The makeup of a class is so important. Classroom management and engagement have so much to do with how students respond to school daily, but the makeup of the class needs to be there. I saw it last year with the combination of students I had. Sometimes, they don't mix properly.

One of the main reasons for looping with students is to be able to have more progress and acheivement from the students. In 'The Looping Handbook', Daniel Burke states, 'research on school efectiveness has consistently suggested that long-term teacher/student relationships improve both student performance and job satisfaction for teachers.'. When you don't have to worry about the first six weeks of school and routines and procedures (as much as with a brand new group of students), you can get to learning almost immediately.

After the year began, room 304 was at 23 students. The maximum roster size in Rhode Island is 26 students. A few weeks of the school year went by and we quickly realized that we were not going to have a teacher in room 301. The question then came up of, 'Who can we save from that room?' By save we were referring to students that we can place in another classroom so that they don't have an interruption of instruction. We wanted to limit learning loss.

When I spoke to Krystal about it, I said that I would take three more students to max my class out at 26. This ends up making instruction, classroom management, etc. (to 26 students) more difficult, but at the same time, it also means that I won't receive a random student at some point in the year (Providence is a very transient community). 

We started to discuss which students we would move into my class, and I said to Krystal, 'We could go one of two ways. Since I am fully TESOL certified, I could take beginning readers...or if we wanted to try to save some RICAS (Rhode Island Comprehensive Assessment System) scores, I could take students that did well last year and on iReady BOY (Beginning of Year).' It was decided that I would get Jeremyah, Kellan and Davina. Three higher students that we couldn't (for the sake of the students, the school and the faculty) lose for high stakes testing.

When having new students enter your classroom, it is so important to make them feel at home and let them know that they are truly part of your classroom community. I made sure the students had desks, name tags, supplies, etc. I incorporated their desks into the mix of desks already there (to not make them feel like outsiders) and spoke to the class in advance of their arrival. I always talk to my students honestly and make sure they understand the reson for decisions. I also try to help them to understand the position that others are in and ask them to imagine what it would be like for them (empathy). The three new students blended into the class perfectly and began to show their personalities almost immediately.

Shortly after the new students joined the class, I got doctor paperwork from Kellan's mother. I have received this paperwork numerous times. The paperwork is usually just a questionnaire to give data on what is witnessed by the classroom teacher. I filled it out and sent it along. I didn't really think much of it...until Parent Teacher Conferences.

I didn't have many Parent Teacher Conferences set up. I've become used to it as it happens for a number of reasons (work schedules, transportation issues, child care challenges, etc.) also I have close relationships with many of the parents in the class (I've had these students for over a year - and have had most of the students' siblings) so they don't feel the need to come by.

Kellan's mom did come by though. She spoke about how highly he speaks of me, how he really enjoys class, how it is a huge change from his previous classroom, etc. Then she spoke about concerns, in relation to a commonly diagnosed condition in children. I spoke about how I am not a doctor, but I see certain things. I explained my observations and what I notice with him as an individual. As I spoke, her eyes welled up. As I spoke more she burst into tears. I apologized and asked if she was ok..and she replied, 'I'm sorry I'm such a mess, but these are good tears. I'm so happy that you see what I see. I'm so happy that he is so lucky to be in your class.' She left shortly after, with a greater understanding of her child and his challenges in another setting...school.

Teaching is both an art and a science. It is important that when messing with the chemistry of a classroom that you do whatever you have to do to keep the mixture from being explosive, while also making sure that all parts of the mixture are getting what they need to grow.