Help needed for request letter..

You are not allowed to request a teacher by name (not that that would help me because I do not know any of the teachers!) They want me to list any attributes that would meet his needs.

This is what I have so far:

To whom it may concern

In keeping with the school's preference of requesting an appropriate educational environment for my child, I am writing to you to request certain teacher attributes for the school year of 2011- 2012 for my son #####.

#####  is currently in #####  1^st grade class. He is a bright and sweet natured child who has been diagnosed with ADHD presenting with anxiety late in 2010. He sometimes needs extra help in overcoming some of the challenges of ADHD. In preparing for the next school year I would like to request a special teacher assignment that will be to my child’s advantage in his educational and emotional well being.

This teacher should assign minimal homework, provide daily communication to me, make accommodation in the classroom to achieve #####  learning success, provide daily positive reinforcement, provide positive interventions and discipline strategies, is knowledgeable about ADHD and the effects it has on a child, has had success teaching other ADHD students and is not threatened by parent advocacy.

Key attributes of this teacher that I feel are imperative for ##### educational success is someone who will be: Flexible, patient, positive, nurturing, inspiring, consistent, imaginative, creative, and encouraging as well as a confidence builder to my child.

I understand that in order to create balanced classrooms, not all requests can be granted, but that I hope that ##### can be accommodated.

I think you have a good handle on what would be a good match for him.  If you can, try to find out about the second grade teachers, and then you can tailor your letter to make it sound like the desired teacher is best for your child.  If you don't know about the second grade teachers, then your approach is good.  I do something similar every year.

I would take out the part about minimizing homework.  If you need an IEP to get less work, that's okay.  Otherwise, it sounds like you're looking for the easy way out.  (I'm not saying you are, but it could come across that way).  If one teacher is known for giving a lot more homework, then add to your note that he woud best be paired with a teacher who gives less homework and explain why.

Also, I don't think you can demand that your child must have a teacher who will be in daily communication with a parent.  I always write in my letter that my son is best paired with a teacher who likes to communicate frequently with parents, but it seems pushy to insist that it must be daily communication.

"Is not threatened by parent advocacy" sounds negative.  Maybe flip it around.  Include it in your paragraph about the importance of a teacher who commuicates frequently with parents.  You can talk about your child thriving in an environment where teachers, parents, and doctors all work together as a team to figure out the best ways to help your child.

The rest looks great!  I really like your list of teacher attributes.

Is structure important to your child?  If it is, add it.

The letter looks great! One suggestion:

Take a look at "to my child's advantage" in the second paragraph. Consider re-phrasing to "beneficial to my child". Some administrators will argue that your child should not have an advantage over other children.

Once the teacher is selected, it would helpful to all to discuss directly with the teacher what triggers can motivate, de-motivate your child or create a meltdown. Any transitional difficulties? that sort of thing.

Good luck!

Our son's school gave us every "legitimate" reason to not complete an IEP.

• "Too near the end of the year - we won't be here to properly represent your son's needs at the special ed meeting." 
• "He's getting everything he would get in an IEP. Having it in writing would only limit our ability to help."

After a time we realized the only right thing to do was to press and press hard. It took an attorney to get the school to do what they already had a legal responsibility to do: provide an appropriate education for our child.

It has made a substantial difference in the posture of the school and the ability of our child to deal with school.

If you have not already looked at this, the following link (on this site) will take you to a good, concise look at what a 504 provdes for and doesn't provide for: http://www.adhdnews.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=33299& PN=1

Unfortunately, the schools have a great deal of wiggle room on this. The school may be within their legal rights approaching your son's 504 the way they are.

Legal help may be worth considering.

I seem to have had a different experience than others.  My child has gotten preferential seating and other small bits of help without an IEP or 504.  If he ever needs accommodations on tests, reduced load for homework, or other big interventions, then he'll need an IEP.  He's in fifth grade, and for all of his elementary school experience, I've done well with being in frequent contact with the teachers and figuring out strategies to help him.  Over the years, he's been given the option to work at an independent desk whenever he feels distracted working around others.  When younger, he used to brainstorm writing ideas aloud with a teacher or peer when it was too hard for him to do it independently on paper.  We got all of these things without IEP or 504, which benefitted both the school and me.  He didn't get a formal label, and the school doesn't have another IEP or 504. 

turtledove, it makes sense to wait until he's on a good medication dosage before doing the evaluation.  That way, you'll see what his needs really are.

I know a lot of people are pushing for IEP or 504's and I'm sure a lot of kids have been helped tremendously by the accomodations. Unfortunately, some teachers pigeon hole kids and my goal is to keep my kids as main stream as possible.

I'd write your request note, with some of the suggestions that people made, then try things out with the teacher. See how things work with the meds and see if you can establish a relationship with the teacher. I know we have to be the advocate for our children, but if we can go at it as a team instead of showing up with a list of demands (less homework, etc.) you'll find your child will be able to thrive in the supportive environment. And once you and the teacher are working together, you can tweak the situation without making things "formal."

Just my two cents!

I need to write a teacher request letter for my son to help select a teacher for him next year,  he will be going into the second grade. Does anyone know of any templates out there? Any key teacher attributes that you guys suggest to put in this letter to help select a teacher for an ADHD student?

Thanks again for all your replies..I just wanted to mention that I met with my son's teacher, assistant principle, Speech Therapist, Reading Therapist and the school psychologist to discuss current IEP's and further testing for DS. During this meeting they asked me to write that letter for placement for the upcoming school year and to put my "wish list" in it regardless if it seemed over the top.  DS's current teacher is wonderful and is already doing most of those things on my list! They also have decided to hold DS back in the first grade next year and will do the evaluation after the first nine weeks.