How to Write a Classroom Placement Letter

As the end of the school year winds down, schools begin their planning for the following school year. Principals have sent out their year end newsletters and asked that families submit a placement request letter soon. Some schools may not even accept such letters or remind families to send them if they do. But we would definitely suggest writing a classroom placement request letter. So how do you write a classroom placement letter?

We will go through our process of writing the letter below. Want help writing a school placement letter for your child, see our guide for writing a classroom placement letter to assist you with specific wording to best describe your child and the matching optimal learning environment. This strategy continues to work for helping our children get placed in a beneficial classroom for them.

Why I write a placement request letter?

My family writes a classroom placement letter for each of our school age children every year. Having been a teacher and taken part in the process of classroom building in a variety of schools and grade levels, I would suggest all families take the time to write a placement request letter. Each school builds classrooms differently, but every teacher walks into this meeting with all the students on his/her case load.

For middle school teachers, this ranges from 30 to 150 students depending on the make up of the classes and how they determine placement. In elementary school, this includes their entire class of 20 – 30 students. For half day kindergarten teachers, this is both their AM and PM classes which could be around 40 – 60 students.

For most schools, teachers complete placement with their other grade level teachers. This can mean anywhere from 2 to 20 teachers in one room all trying to get their students put into a class. What this boils down to, your child is placed into a classroom rather quickly while multiple teachers are doing the same with their classes.

As a Teacher

Teachers have limited time to place all their students into classes while working with all the teachers in their grade level. We usually blocked 30 minutes to an hour for this process. Sometimes we knew the teachers as we placed students into classes but many times we were not aware of the teachers, only told Class A, Class B, Class C, etc.

As a teacher, this really limits my availability to place a student with a teacher who best matches his/her learning style. Instead, we focused on placing students with or without specific peers, matching students with others working at their learning level, and trying to balance student make up in classes as much as possible.

Often times a few students who need to be placed together or apart become the focus of these meetings. Then the focus shifts to students who struggle academically. Finally, the last 5 – 10 minutes focuses on the rest of the well behaved and generally easy going students. During this time, administration is trying to balance out the make up of the classroom by counting girl and boy ratios, evaluating the number of children with special needs in each classroom, and looking for specific kids they know. I never want my children placed into a classroom solely because they need more girls in one room.

How are Family Letters Used

The family written placement letters focus on one student and provide much more information than good friends and learning level. You can really focus on what best helps your child to succeed in school. This is your time to describe the type of classroom that benefits your child.

The administrators who read the placement request letters know which classroom they envision each teacher. In addition, they know each teacher’s classroom management style, teaching practices, and demeanor. Most administrators will read your letter before even walking into the placement meeting. They will highlight they key phrases in your letter and may even have a classroom in mind. Every child deserves the opportunity to be matched with a teacher who will best help them to succeed.

Every time we placed students, the administrator would spend the last 2 – 5 minutes focused on the classroom placement request letters. They would ask in which class each student was placed in. Then they would use the placement letter to decide if this is the current placement for the student. If they liked the placement, we moved on. If they thought the student should move classes, they asked if the student would fit better in a specific classroom. More often than not, we moved the student into the classroom described in the placement request letter.

See the value of this letter? Your child’s placement gets just a little extra thought and attention.

Classroom Placement Letter Format

I always start my letter by giving my child’s full name, current grade and teacher. I thank the administrator for taking the time to read my letter.

Describe your Child in the Classroom Placement Request Letter

In the second paragraph, I describe the awesome characteristics of my child that help with placement. For example, inquisitive, a hands-on learner, thoughtful, gentle soul, advanced in their learning, people pleaser, perfectionist, etc. Take a moment to describe both your child’s learning style and their interpersonal characteristics.

This is also the time to mention specifics about your child’s situation. If your child has a medical diagnosis or allergy that needs special attention, be sure to explain that if it could help with teacher placement as well. If your child receives services for special education, reading, math, or is learning English, we suggest adding this as well. Principals over see many grades, teachers and learners, so they benefit from these reminds so it isn’t overlooked.

We try to keep this paragraph about the positives of our child. However, we all know that our child has things they need to work on too. Here’s the trick, turn those negatives into a positive as you write your letter. Need help thinking about your child’s areas to improve as strengths? Our Writing a Classroom Placement Letter product provides a list of these strengths to consider.

Describe the Learning Environment that Works For Your Child

In the third paragraph, I describe the learning environment that we feel our child would do best in. Do they need caring and supportive teachers, challenging academics, clear expectations and routines, good home-school communication, a positive role model or friend (don’t be afraid to state names), positive rewards/feedback, gentle guidance, reminders or prompts of behaviors, hands-on or multi-sensory lessons, etc? Our guide for writing a classroom placement letter provides many more examples of learning environments.

There are so many different types of classrooms and teachers. Most teachers really strive to do the best for the students so it is not necessary to ask for everything a good teacher should do. Instead, focus on 1-2 traits that impact your child’s learning and relation with their teacher and peers. Don’t be afraid to name drop a teacher or even peers who should not be in class with your child. Principals may or may not grant these requests, but if you don’t ask, you’ll never know.

A Note on Teacher Requests

What is the principal specifically states to not request a teacher? Yes, this is becoming more and more common. Teachers sometimes switch grade levels right before school begins. Some teachers choose to leave the district or the profession. Other times the principals receive so many requests for the same teacher, they cannot possible put all those children in the same class. Principals want to give parents what they want, but sometimes it’s just not possible.

However, don’t let this keep you from mentioning a specific teacher though. We avoid writing that we would like our child placed in a specific teacher’s class. Instead, we write about wanting a teacher similar to a specific teacher. So if there is a teacher you love, add in your letter that you’ve had the opportunity to see how a specific teacher works. You believe that the type of learning environment this specific teacher creates is the classroom which would best meet your child’s needs.

If the principal has two teachers at the same grade level with a similar teaching style, that’s awesome. You may find yourself placed with in the other classroom, but your child’s needs are still meet. However, most likely this teacher is unique and the principal may just place your child in this class.

Ending a Classroom Placement Request Letter

In the final paragraph, I again thank the administrator and offer an opportunity to further discuss this information if they should have any questions. Leave your contact information so they can e-mail or call you. More often than not, they won’t need to contact you. Your letter will speak for itself, but just in case, make it easier for them.

Some Tips on Classroom Placement Letters

Save your letter! Once you write the initial letter, it is so easy to update it from year to year and resend the letter. Even if my child has the same principal, I will send the letter each year. Most principals won’t remember the letter you sent last year.

Talk with your child! No matter the age, your little one can tell you something they love about school or learning. They can usually tell you something they love or dislike about their teacher or peers too. This may or may not be helpful, but it’s a place to start.

Talk to other adults in your child’s life. Ask your child’s teacher what your little one excels in or what helps them to be successful. But don’t stop there, reach out to their PE teacher or music teacher too. Ask their coaches or after school caregivers. Sometimes even friends’ parents can be helpful to give you insight into your child.

Brainstorm. Write down things you love about your child. Maybe you love their curiosity, perseverance, kind-heart, smile, love of science, etc. Try the book “Your Child’s Strengths” by Jenifer Fox for assistance brainstorming. Also write down the places of improvement for your children. Maybe they constantly push your boundaries, take comments very personally, disorganized, very chatty, refuse to listen, struggles to learn, etc. Turn each of these into a classroom or teacher trait that would benefit your child.

Some examples to get you started:

Push your boundaries = needs clear and consistent expectations and rules with well-developed consequences

Takes comments very personally = needs a caring and supportive teacher who provides gentle redirection or benefits from many opportunities to receive positive rewards and feedback

Disorganized = needs a structured and organized classroom

Chatty = benefits from working with others or needs a teacher who incorporates group work throughout the day

Refuses to listen = benefits from clear and consistent expectations and rules with well-developed consequences or needs a classroom that encourages leaders regularly in the decision making process

Struggles to learn = needs hands-on or multisensory lessons or benefits from teachers who can break learning into smaller steps or a teacher with passion for the subject being taught

Final Thoughts on Placement Request Letters

Your child should never be one of many. They deserve the considerate and thoughtful process of helping them to find the perfect teacher for them. Whether or not your school district accepts placement letters, I suggest writing one. The worst that happens is that it is never read, but just maybe, it will help your child to find the perfect teacher to encourage them on their academic journey. In your letter, ask for what you child needs.

I don’t usually request a specific teacher, but I do request the type of teacher or classroom that best suits my child. However, if you do have a specific teacher in mind, don’t be afraid to ask for him/her. If your child doesn’t work well with certain peers, it’s okay to state that too. And if your child benefits from positive role models, drop a few names. While you may not get the teacher you wish or your child is placed with different friends, it never hurts to ask.

Even if after writing your letter, your child seems to be misplaced, go into the new year with an open mind. Maybe your child really needs this teacher this year! If you’ve ever written or thought about writing a classroom placement letter, leave us a comment and let us know what worked for you. We’d also love to hear if they helped your child receive a good fit classroom placement.

Hi, I’m Nicole.

Here at Creatingbutterflies we provide families with practical solutions to real life problems for everything parenting, scouting, dual language, and enjoying time outdoors. We are a family of 6 with 4 wonderful becoming bilingual children who loves scouting, camping, and hiking with their family. Mom is an educator and dad is a firefighter/paramedic.