We just finished the great Kindergarten Switch-a-Roo. What is a switch-a-roo, you ask? It's a process we use to balance our kindergarten classes by having our k students rotate through teachers and with various students during the first two weeks of school. Typically, schools blindly build kindergarten classes based on little to no information. Unfortunately, more often than not, this leads to heavily unbalanced classes. One teacher may end up with all the students already reading while another teacher may end up with a class full of students who've never even picked up a book. Not to mention student behaviors that can dominate teacher time.
As an alternative, my school started switching things up a few years ago and has seen great success. During the first eight days, students rotate through the four kindergarten teachers so that each teacher has a chance to learn about and make connections with each child. Students within the classes are also mixed up several times so we can see which of their little personalities clash and which ones play well together. During the switch, we are also assessing students in letter and number identification, concepts of print, counting, and much more to identify students as high, medium, and low academically as well as noting social/emotional needs. On the last day of the switch, we have what we affectionately call "Draft Day" where the math coach and I facilitate a meeting with the kindergarten team to draft the final class placements with balanced classes as the goal. It can be stressful, but we always end up with balance in the end. The day after the placement meeting, we have a trial run to double check we've made the best decisions and make any last minute switches. At the end of the trial run day, we send home a letter with parents to inform them of the final class placement. We also host a breakfast the following day where students and parents can "meet" the teacher the students will have all year.
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| Each teacher has a color during the switch to help students know which room to go to each day. Also, students wear name tags that identify their homeroom teacher and the class for the day. |
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| Students wait outside the green room to switch for the day. |
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| Charts to track the placement process and ensure balance during "Draft Day." |
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| Norms for the placement meeting. |
If you have questions or would like to know more about the Kindergarten Switch-a-Roo, please comment below.
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