School Open House

[Guest guest]

Debbie,

I teach in a junior high, not high school, so I am not sure how your high

school works, as we don't have an open house as you described.

Does you school start Tuesday but the teachers/staff are there Monday?

If so, could you get a map of the building, and highlight his schedule's

rooms and find out where students report that first day?

Help him figure out how to get to that location. Maybe take him in on Monday

and without the other students around, have him walk through his schedule?

You could probably arrange this with his social worker or guidance

counselor.

If you can't do that on Monday, in my building, I think the social worker or

guidance counselor would field your call and agree to either meet your son

as you suggested, or, if they have quite a few such requests as we are a big

building, see if a student, perhaps a neighbor or other acquaintance known

to your son could accompany him to his homeroom, or wherever they go the

first day. Are all the students in your son's grade new to the building?

Seventh graders are new to the building so we ask at the end of each 7th

grade class " Where are you going? Who else is going to that room? "

But if it is an eighth or ninth grade class and most of the students had

been in the building the previous year, then the teachers probably wouldn't

do that. So as an 8th or 9th grade teacher I wouldn't know that your son

didn't know the building unless I was told. If I were aware, then I would

look at his schedule and find another student going in that direction to

help him.

The sw/gc could probably contact the teacher who is with the student at the

beginning of the day, either the homeroom teacher or the first period

teacher and give the teacher a heads up that your son might be anxious.

If our gc told me about the situation, I would probably have the student

help me to hand out papers or sharpen pencils or some other little task to

keep his mind from becoming too anxious.

In my district, we report on Wednesday for in-services, classes start the

following week.

When I was a new teacher, I would go in the previous day, Tuesday, to work

on my room even though we can work on it the following Tuesday before the

students arrive.

The first few years, I would be a bit miffed because the tour for new

students would take place and I was interrupted every 10 minutes by a

different group. But with experience I realized that the tours weren't just

for new students but also for anxious students and their parents. So now I

really don't expect to get any real work done, and I am in my room and take

the time to greet and reassure students. This is outside my contract. No

teacher has to be there. But every year, that time invested in being there

that day pays off with helping students and parents with their anxiety.

There are teachers like me all over the country. I hope one of them will

take your son under his or her wing.

E.C.Bernard

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