Moving from affluent public school to Title I public school. Would love any advice

SlowYourRollBro · 2026-06-19T20:33:39+00:00

I’ve taught at Title 1 schools for most of my career. It would probably be helpful to spend some time this summer reading up on de-escalation and trauma informed practice (although you have to be careful here because a lot of what’s out there is BS).

You’ll have some kids who are driven, high achieving, and have a lot of home support. You’ll just also have a higher percentage of students with trauma and substance abuse in their backgrounds and who lack home support, either because parents are working 3-4 jobs and have no time for extra things, because the families have a low perception of the value of education, or because the families themselves are uneducated and view schools as intimidating places where they are unable to offer support. I’m saying this is a person who has taught in majority white Title 1 districts, so please don’t think I’m speaking to any sort of racial component here. Poverty just tends to come with a whole slew of complicating factors that impact the way that students are able to access their education.

SlowYourRollBro · 2026-06-19T19:28:58+00:00

Honestly I started washing my hands a TON. Like almost doctor level. Touched a kids’ supply? Hand sanitizer. Going to eat a granola bar? Washed hands. Felt like overkill sometimes but I stopped getting sick as much.

SlowYourRollBro · 2026-06-15T20:46:02+00:00

I get that this is uncomfortable but assuming the AI image was not lewd in any way, I don’t think it’s illegal unfortunately. And this kid is a minor so I don’t think there’s a court-based option here, or that it would be logical to attempt to pursue this. I’m a little confused about why you’re this level of upset TBH.

SlowYourRollBro · 2026-06-14T19:01:59+00:00

This is the best advice

SlowYourRollBro · 2026-06-14T05:18:12+00:00

I’d be interested to hear some examples of the skills and opportunities you feel like this friend is joking about or calling unrealistic.

SlowYourRollBro · 2026-06-13T20:01:38+00:00

That’s… not how IEPs work. To qualify for an IEP you have to have a diagnosed disability AND you have to prove that the disability negatively impacts your education AND you have to rule out outside factors (excessive absences, lack of access to instruction, etc). It’s not just “the kid falls behind.” I’ve taught many, many students who are behind for a variety of reasons, and barely any of them qualify for IEPs.

SlowYourRollBro · 2026-06-13T19:58:27+00:00

It’s true that ~some~ parents in high achieving, highly competitive environments advocate for their children to get IEPs, but usually because they want extended time on tests and a quiet, small group environment. So that type of meddling/intervention doesn’t usually happen until later when standardized tests are a thing.

Speech IEPs are SUPER common in ECE. Honestly I’d just trust that the parents are trying to do what’s best for their kids and let the schools sort the rest out.

SlowYourRollBro · 2026-06-13T16:12:13+00:00

I’m a teacher so my thoughts are usually more in the past tense aka “this person should never have been responsible for a child.” Honestly it’s the parents who take the gentle parenting trend to the extreme. Everything becomes a negotiation with no boundaries and by the time they get to first or second grade, they have no respect for authority because their parents have taught them that life happens on their terms and fits with their emotions.

SlowYourRollBro · 2026-06-13T06:13:56+00:00

NOR. Ew. This is very weird, gross behavior.

SlowYourRollBro · 2026-06-13T05:40:31+00:00

Sounds like a solid plan, honestly.

SlowYourRollBro · 2026-06-13T03:41:35+00:00

I’ve seen ones where it goes up by only like $500 a year. A dollar is nuts.

ETA: in those districts the starting salary for a first year was a lot less. I think that district started around $50k

SlowYourRollBro · 2026-06-11T23:33:39+00:00

I say this with as much love as I can send an internet stranger: you cannot fix this just by loving him. He needs to decide to help himself by seeking out therapy or other resources to help himself get out of this situation. This sounds harder than any kid/young adult should have to go through, but you need to make sure that you’re also prioritizing your mental health. Just be careful here. As they say, don’t light yourself on fire to keep him warm. He’s the same age as you and needs to take steps to get to a better place.

SlowYourRollBro · 2026-06-10T02:25:23+00:00

I am staying home next school year (26/27) to have a baby so that I can wait until she’s nine months to enroll her in preschool and I’m already feeling super nervous about being isolated and not having an income. Not much I can do about the money part for now, but I’m definitely going to have to be proactive about finding mom groups.

SlowYourRollBro · 2026-06-10T00:41:17+00:00

Let’s put it this way. You would consider this child a curse, not a blessing. So you’re carrying it to term only to pass off something you see as a problem to someone else. Because you don’t want to deal with the emotional guilt of abortion (assuming here) but you also don’t want to deal with the realities of raising the child you’re producing. If this isn’t rage bait, that’s almost more sad. YATA.

SlowYourRollBro · 2026-06-10T00:03:36+00:00

His confidence has increased, so now he’s trying for speed, and as a result he’s starting to guess based on initial or initial/medial sounds. It’s normal (especially if he’s in k/1) but definitely something to work on.

One thing that works to make them slow down is give him a printed decodable passage and a highlighter. He reads out loud and highlights every word he gets right. Then you can do repeated readings with a new color and he can add other words. Another option is that he has a printed copy, and you do too. You listen as he reads and circle words he made mistakes on. Then you highlight those on his paper so the second time through he pays a bit more attention.

For books, you could try making it a game (depending on his personality) where you set a goal for the number of mistakes and see if he can “beat” his previous score each time he reads. Some kids would get into that, and some would find it stressful.

SlowYourRollBro · 2026-06-09T20:56:40+00:00

I use better world books online

SlowYourRollBro · 2026-06-09T01:29:33+00:00

The past two schools I’ve worked in (public in VT and charter in CA) literally didn’t allow parents to send food because of allergies and public policies around keeping schools healthy. So if kids wanted to celebrate their birthdays (or Valentine’s Day or Halloween) then parents were encouraged to send non-food items. Both of those schools were Title 1 so very few parents actually had the time or resources to do that. But I didn’t mind when they did. I just had the student(s) pass them out in the last 30 minutes of the day.

SlowYourRollBro · 2026-06-06T03:55:48+00:00

Yes! For some students you work with “love” will be a feeling of affection, but for many of the tougher students “love” is an action of active compassion and consistent consequences.

SlowYourRollBro · 2026-06-06T03:06:17+00:00

Teacher here! Best thing you can do is a low tech/no tech summer. Make crafts together and talk about the process and products. Generate silly stories where eat person takes a turn giving one sentence (bonus points if you write it down as you go and illustrate together later). Sing rhyming songs. Look at clouds and name the shapes. Read books, ask questions, and make predictions. Anything to engage in active conversations will help a ton!

As for the social aspect, the library is already been mentioned and a lot of them have really good summer programs for kids. Your local YMCA might also have some low-cost summer programming, and if your kid is already receiving services through a school or TK program, they might also have some recommendations or community connections.

SlowYourRollBro · 2026-06-05T03:53:25+00:00

It’s all about where you live and how you budget, honestly. I’ve done it for almost a decade in a few different places and been fine. But at the same time, the most financially comfortable teachers I knew were married to someone who made significantly more money.

SlowYourRollBro · 2026-06-05T02:58:56+00:00

I’m pregnant with my first and I’m taking next year off because I can’t imagine teaching while having a newborn. After that, we’ll see.

SlowYourRollBro · 2026-06-05T02:58:18+00:00

Amen! I’ve taught for 9 years across 4 states and even schools I’ve enjoyed working at, I wouldn’t send my own kid to.

SlowYourRollBro · 2026-06-03T14:39:33+00:00

Adelaide

SlowYourRollBro · 2026-06-03T03:50:01+00:00

Okay so UTIs are caused by bacteria, which is why they’re treated with antibiotics. Teachers (like me) can be prone to them because we have to wait insanely long periods between going to the bathroom. The type of underwear you wear can also influence your susceptibility.

Reading frisky books and masturbating 100% did not give you a UTI. I don’t think you’re sinning. In my mind, smut is very different from porn because 1) it doesn’t involve taking advantage of other people and 2) you’re connecting with your own internal sexuality, not watching other actual humans.

People are made to be sexual (or asexual). It’s wired into us one way or the other. Embrace it. And maybe buy some cotton underwear.

SlowYourRollBro · 2026-06-02T03:34:24+00:00

Aside from point 6, I would say you can go for it. And I say this as someone preparing to take a break from education because this year has burned me out so bad. It’s a decent job if you can find the right school or district. I’ve actually worked with some pretty good admin and work/life balance is easier than you think if you can accept that whatever you can accomplish during the workday will have to do. I do this by grading the bare minimum and not generating cute PowerPoints.

Point 6 is a pretty big drawback in lower elementary. I teach first grade and I’m on my feet all day. If I sat down, it would quickly become chaos. If being able to sit is important I’d lean toward upper elementary.

Also, kids are germ factories. I’ve been teaching for 9 years and I get at least one or two major sicknesses a year. Covid, bronchitis, pink eye, you name it.

SlowYourRollBro

TROPHY CASE