Why do middle school's take so long to mail out schedules if they are already finished and set up?

Question

It seems as though the middle school my daughter goes to takes a considerably long time to send out schedules-they wait until August. I know that the school already has the schedules finished and set up because I have a meeting with the Special Education coordinator a week or so after school gets out to make sure my daughter gets experienced teachers, and the schedules are already set on the computer. The only reason I ask this is because my daughter gets very nervous and starts stressing about who she will be in class with once the back to school stuff starts rolling out. So, I am just curious...Anyone know whythey wait so long?

Answer 1

If they do it too early, they get slammed with requests for another copy because "we lost ours" and requests for changes of class/teacher/classmates.  The less time they give you before school starts, the less of this they have to deal with.  Not because they don't want to deal with YOU, but those zillions of other parents who don't have any particular reason to need to know yet.  Perhaps if you called or went down there, and explained how nervous your special-needs child gets ....?

Answer 2

My school sends out schedules on the first day of school, no time to prepare or find where your classrooms are!

Answer 3

Probably because if they send the schedules out too early, the kids lose them and they have to reprint them anyway.  They probably save money by sending them out closer to the start of school.

Or it could just be that the office personnel have other duties that take precedent, like inventory and ordering for the new school year.

Answer 4

All of the above. Plus the schedules could change due to enrollment. Many students transfer in and out during the summer. There may be some new students with special needs transferring to the school. Do you want 15 students with special needs in your child's math class? Or do you want your child's schedule to change the first day of school because only 8 children chose to take Spanish or they would have to combine classes because your favorite teacher got promoted to administration 2 weeks before school starts?

Answer 5

I think, mostly what other administrators have commented on--that no schedule is set in stone--at the HS level, we are getting students coming in on the first day after orientation--curriculum is always pretty much completed, but i learned the first year not to fill in the grade book until after the first week--lots of switches--i know at the private HS that i teach at that no one gets to pref their teachers----tell your daughter to enjoy her summer and chill out--it all falls into place :-)

Answer 6

they lose it!

also sp ed students schedules are done ahead of time because they have special requirements and are placed first.  Everyone's schedule is constantly changing.  Right up until the first week of school.  Schools are also afraid kids/parents will complain.

Answer 7

I am a Middle School Counselor. At my school, we do not give out student schedules until they arrive at school the first day.

This is for many reasons.

First- like others said, the earlier you give something out, the sooner the students will lose them. We would be innundated with requests for additional copies the entire summer. As it is, we spend the first 2 weeks of school printing duplicate copies for students who lose them.

Second- schedules are NEVER finalized until after school begins. It is always possible for a student's schedule to be changed for a variety of reasons. For example, last school year we had a teacher resign 4 days before school began. There was no time to hire a new teacher so supplements were given to the other teachers in her department. All of her students' schedules had to be changed to accomodate for changes in the master schedule.

Third- If students see their schedules too early, they spend the summer calling the school asking for schedule changes. It is impossible to accomodate every students' wishes. They find out that their friend has Art 3rd period, and they want to move to that class, too.

I just have one more comment. I noticed that you said you meet with the Special Education coordinator to make sure that your daughter gets experienced teachers. I wonder why you would assume that an experienced teacher would be the best choice? You need to consider that sometimes experienced teachers get burned out and in a rut with their teaching. A newer teacher can offer a fresh attitude and new ideas. Obviously, there are horrible new teachers and horrible experienced teachers. My point is, just don't limit your daughter's educational experience to only those teachers who have been teaching for a while. You might just find that the best teacher she ever had is the one just out of college!