Why are Teachers being Re-assigned after the School Year Starts?
You check the class lists the week before school starts and find out who your child’s teacher will be. You get to meet the teacher at Back-to-School Night. A few weeks later, you learn that your child’s teacher has been “re-assigned.” Why? And why a month after the start of the school year?
Projecting how many students will show up at the beginning of the next school year can be challenging. Principals check with families in the spring to see who plans to return, the district looks at registration numbers and demographic data trends. But until the school year gets well underway, it’s hard to know for sure how many students will show up.
California law and collective bargaining agreements require districts to staff schools based on enrollment-driven formulas. To ensure that staffing is balanced across the district so that every school has teachers in proportion to its actual student count, districts give the dust a chance to settle over the first few weeks of school, and then compare actual to projected enrollment on a school-by-school basis. This internal district process culminates in “Norm Day,” which must take place by the fourth week of school, per the teachers’ union (UTP) contract.
What determines which teachers are re-assigned?
Staffing adjustments may be considered based on enrollment levels, contractual staffing ratios, program needs, and operational requirements. If a school loses a teaching position due to lower enrollment than was projected, the UTP contract requires that the least senior teacher in that subject and/or grade level (NOT the least senior teacher in the school) is moved from that school to another school where the enrollment is higher than was projected.
Because the district receives operating funds based on the students who enroll and attend, PUSD cannot maintain “extra” teachers at a school with lower-than-projected enrollment. “Staffing to ratio” ensures equity across schools and keeps expenses in check so school districts don’t overstaff based on incorrect projections. Post-Norm Day re-assignments ensure that staffing resources are not disproportionately concentrated at one school at the expense of another.
“Norm Day” is sometimes confused with “Census Day,” the state-designated date used to capture official student enrollment and demographic information for all California public schools. Census Day takes place the first Wednesday in October. Districts report Census Day data to the state in December, which uses it as the baseline for enrollment-based funding formulas and state demographic reporting.
Does PUSD have to move teachers every year?
Teacher re-assignment doesn’t happen every year at every school, but it is fairly common, not only in Pasadena but at all California public schools. “Combo” classes combining two grades are also not unusual. The school principal usually will work with teachers to figure out which students are likely to do best in a combo-class situation, and in some cases students benefit from being in a mixed-age group.
What is the impact on students?
Although change can feel unsettling at first, in our experience, when families respond with a positive attitude, students are more likely to accept and adapt to change. Keep in mind that the ultimate goal is balancing resources equitably across the district. While it may seem “unfair” that your student had to make a change, it would also be unfair if students at another school had to make do with a disproportionate ratio of students to teachers.
What can parents do?
Try to keep an open mind. Listen and acknowledge your child’s feelings, and reassure them that you will support them as they get to know their new teacher.
Stay calm and model a steady response, as children often look to their parents for cues about how to react. By managing emotions calmly, parents can help children feel safe and learn healthy ways to respond to change.
Remember that only the district can hire and place teachers, so parents cannot raise money to “keep” a specific teacher who is part of a collective bargaining unit (in this case, UTP).
Communicate with the new teacher. If changes were made after Back to School Night, as if they’re available for a “Coffee with the Teacher” or similar meet-up so new parents get a chance to interact with one another and the teacher.
Learn more about this issue. State Superintendent Tony Thurmond will talk about a proposal to shift from attendance- to enrollment-based funding at the California Department of Education’s Oct. 1st “Addressing Declining Enrollment” summit.