Looping

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Home : 2002 : February : 14

Looping
By Jan

For many years I 'looped' between first and second grade. Our principal is a strong advocate of it, having even written journal articles etc. It was stoped because a new K-1 school was built and I stayed with 2-3-4 school.

If you have a difficult class, it can be a very long two years.
If you have some difficult parents, it's tough times for 2 years. (On the other hand, when looping, parent conferences the second year are so much easier because you know the kids and parents)
Towards the end of my looping, I found keeping up with curriculum changes was the most difficult. The year I taught grade

2, I didn't always know what grade 1 was doing/revising/introducing/purchasing in curriculum....
so, the next year, when teaching grade 1 I was at a slight diadvantage. "It took me ten years to get 5 years experience teaching one grade level".

As looping teachers, we didn't get any extra money for supplies. Storage was a problem...I had to pack my grade 1 boxes away for a whole year when teaching grade 2. I didn't want the same math games, manipulatives, bulletin boards.
It takes an extra organized teacher to loop!

As far as being 'required'..In our system, we get a contract that guarantees a job next year, but the administrator does have the right to assign us to any grade/class within our certification. They often look for volunteers first and then may use seniority for making a decision.

Good Luck.
Jan