We are allowed to request teachers and I most definitely request now. One year my daughter had a teacher who was too soft, and is academically suffering for it now.

I have a teacher in the lower elementary section who has had my children, and whose opinions I trust. I always ask her which teacher would be best for each of my child based on my child's personality/abilities and the teacher's personality/expectations. I want my children to have the teachers who are not necessarily the warm-fuzzy type, but the ones who will challenge my children without sending them over the edge.

We dont find out till a week before school either. For the reason being they just dont want to deal with parents calling in they wanted Mrs Warm Fuzzy. Also for the past years we have been able to request a certain teacher but we changed principal last summer and this year thats a NO go. Which was fine with me I never requested a certain teacher. I just stated that my dd neede a very structured teacher and someone who could deal with her minor sesory issues. The school has always taken all the kids personalities into consideration anyways when placing them into a class.
I dont have a problem with any of the teachers so not sure if I would request anyone special. And as an added note I think the teacher who did get the most request was way overrated and not any better than any of the less requested teachers. JMO

Cindy

We aren't supposed to be able to request teachers but a few of us have known the office staff for 20+ years so they recommend ( , nudge) whom to get for a teacher. Good to have friends in high places.

We dont actually find out till the 1st day of schol (elementary) who the children's teahcer is.

We usually find out who the teachers are at orientation. That's one to two days before the first day of school. Since we are automatically registered, I think I might try to find out a few weeks before hand.

We used to be able to request teachers, then they eliminated that option. The teachers from each grade level meet and look at each child's educational and emotional needs and try to put the child where they will benefit the most(such as my son was put in with the teacher who is a real science nut because he is very strong in that area). They also try to balance out the number of "difficult" students so no one gets stuck with all of them and they look for any personality conflicts that need to be separated. It's been fine for us. When I have had issues, I have no problem voicing them and requesting solutions. The staff has always responded to those requests.

As for when we find out who are children have--it's at registration about a couple weeks before school starts. I like the idea of finding out at the end of the current year, but I can see where that could cause problems. The thing that bugs my kids the most is that with the new privacy act they don't post the classroom rosters at registration anymore. The school secretary looks you up on the list and tells you who your teacher is and that's it. They always liked being able to see who else was in their class.

Our kids usually find out on their end-of-the-year report card. This year's assignments will likely change, though--our district is moving 5th grade to middle school and collapsing bubble classes. Some teachers will be furloughed. When the "bumping" is all over, many classes will have a different teacher than when report cards are sent out. A summer of uncertainty is going to be difficult. I think I like knowing who my kids will have ahead of time.