<p>A 22 year old teacher? umm.. jump over her head ASAP. I realize the school might try to look supportive of her but it seems unnecessarily punitive to your daughter not to mention a bad fit. I would insist on a conference if you didn't get better news yesterday. No 22 year old has the experience to rank kids like that and so unless there was some committee with past year's math teachers this is bogus. Plus, some young teachers are more stuck on their decisions than those that have been doing it a lot longer (probably because they've been proven right more than they've been wrong and so they can afford to look pragmatic :-)</p>
<p>I've often found that a carefully worded email (so I can craft my diplomacy and not sputter on the phone), sometimes cc'd to the relevant guidance person, etc. gets the right dialogue going on an issue like this. There are lots of ways to navigate and it usually helps to assume at the outset that everyone is doing the best they can with the right intentions and there may be some data missing that you can provide...and having the kid make the initial effort is good for them too...</p>
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[quote]
I've often found that a carefully worded email ... cc'd to the relevant guidance person
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I agree...</p>
<p>All public school kids here, but my friends who have moved kids from public schools to a private school have found a a general assumption by the private school that public school kids are behind where the private school kids are. One private school would accept a neighbor's kid, if he re-did 9th grade over at the private school. (Family wasn't interested in that!) It could be that your kid was unfairly labeled with this stereotype.</p>
<p>I'd ask if your kid couldn't try out the next math class up, with the understanding that her progress would be monitored closely and that she would go down to the lower class if it were clear that she couldn't handle the upper class.</p>
<p>If it was me, I'd just email the teacher and say that you think she should be in the other class. Teachers space out all the time. She could have been preoccupied, thinking of someone else, etc.</p>
<p>I think some of these answers are way ahead of where you are. I would say start by asking the teacher why. Don't assume it was a mistake, don't assume it was not a mistake, don't assume she doesn't like your kid, just find out first and react second, not the other way around. If it was an error, you don't want to create a lot of drama and get everyone all defensive, because that will only make it harder to get it fixed. If it was not a mistake, then you want to know what the teacher was thinking, because that will help you know who to talk to and what arguments to make to get it changed.</p>
<p>I agree with two pp. No need to start jumping down people's throats just yet.</p>
<p>thank you all soooo much for your help....it was a clerical computer input error by the algebra 1 teacher (who apparently was the only one making the recommendations)....my daughter took care of it herself, but I did send a very cordial email to her advisor.</p>
<p>Excellent! And, thankfully, no blood had to be spilled. ;)</p>
<p>Great! The Algebra 1 teacher knew that your D had received an A-in her class. It made it easier to correct the error.</p>
<p>Glad it worked out so easily! Sorry that you all had to worry about all of this for a couple of days.</p>
<p>A clerical error!! If all of our problems could be worked out so easily...</p>
<p>It's nice when things get fixed so easily and without contention. I'm glad it worked out.</p>
<p>"Clerical error". Hah! Good one.</p>