<p>My son’s choir teacher of 3 years told them last night that he is leaving the school to teach in a neighboring district. My son is devistated-he takes two choir classes a year and was going to be the guy’s teacher’s aide next year. He was one of the teachers we were counting on to write a great recomendation letter next fall.</p>
<p>What are the rules? Do teacher rec letters have to come from someone who is a current teacher at the school?</p>
<p>No, we went through a very similar situation…As long as the teacher agrees to write the rec, it doesn’t matter that he is no longer at the school…have your S make arrangements with him before the end of the school year to figure out how contact will be made in the fall…</p>
<p>Have your son get his email/mailing address or something before he leaves. Inform him of why. And fall time, hopefully this teacher will do your son the favor. It’s probably okay…</p>
<p>That’s good news.</p>
<p>It’s so sad. My son has Asperger’s. Choir is his “thing.” He was one of only two kids who got into the most advanced choir as a sophomore. Next year was going to be “his” year-to get the big awards, probably one of the scholarships, etc., to be on the “inside” with a teacher. Such opportunities are so rare for kids with Asperger’s. Now he’ll just be one of many nameless seniors in the most advanced choir.</p>
<p>It’s fine, as rodney says. D got a recommendation from a teacher who had left at the end of D’s junior year and was living in Italy. They kept in touch by e-mail, and he got the recommendation done in plenty of time.</p>
<p>Sorry about the situation for your son, though.</p>
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<p>That’s not a very optimistic outlook, no matter what the odds. </p>
<p>Is it possible that he could still plan to aide the new choir director, but back out if he’s uncomfortable, unneeded, etc.? TA policies vary school to school, and maybe he wouldn’t even be interested in working with an unknown new teacher. Just a thought, though.</p>
<p>As others have said, a rec letter is not at all out of the question. Just make sure to touch base before the end of the school year, get contact info, etc.</p>
<p>I am sorry to hear about the disappointment, but I hope next year’s teacher surprises you both :)</p>
<p>My S’s favorite teacher left and when the time came to follow up we couldn’t reach him as he was then traveling. It was a disappointment so make sure your child has a strong backup person in case something like this occurs.</p>
<p>I’ve told my son that they could end up with an even better choir director. But no matter what, he won’t be special to that new director-none of the seniors will be. That’s not being pessimistic, it’s just reality. And my son doesn’t have the kind of personality that is going to reach out and grab the new director. </p>
<p>The old director put a lot of stock in seniority and paying your dues…he treasured his four year choir members. My son (and certainly others) paid their dues-coming early to set up risers and sound equipment, etc.,etc. None of them will have the special relationship that the director tends to have with his seniors. Unless you go to a very small school, you don’t generally have the same teacher all 4 years of high school-the exception tends to be band and choir.</p>
<p>Could you have the teacher write a recommendation letter now to add to your son’s file?</p>
<p>My d’s favorite teacher also left at the end of her junior year. He wrote the letters before he left and gave them to the kids before school was over. We made whatever copies were necessary and sent them out ourselves. D did chase him down to get him to fill out the Common App form, but every college I asked said that they don’t care if they get the form; the letter is what counts.</p>
<p>And no, it didn’t matter about the waiver on the form, and it didn’t matter that d read the letter. Remember that the waiver doesn’t mean that a teacher can’t show the letter to the student; it just means that a teacher cannot be compelled to show the letter to the student.</p>
<p>Missypie, I REALLY feel for you and your S! During hs, music was also one of my Aspie S’s loves too, although he was in band (as many as the school offered and he loved to incorporate/compose music for projects in other classes as much as possible). Unfortunately, kids with Aspergers can struggle when there is a lack of continuity among their teachers (fortunately for S most of his classes were year-long in hs even if broken into semesters - ie he had the same teacher the entire year; it takes him nearly an entire semester to “warm up” and truly find his place in any new class, so the first semesters were always more difficult for him, and he caught up in the second half of the year, when teachers also had a much better understanding of him and his learning style and often became perhaps unconsciously much more supportive. Now that I think of it, this is probably one reason why he is struggling a little in college…)</p>
<p>Band, however, was one of the few classes where S could shine - and partly due to the ongoing support and understanding of the band director. If I were facing your situation one thing I would probably do is talk to the choir director before he leaves, and voice some of my concerns about the kinds of difficulties S might have in adapting to a new choir director and in re-establishing his place in the choir. Perhaps this could somehow pave the way for your S next year if the new director can be provided some background on your S on a more personal level than just being told he/she has a student with Asperger’s in their class if he will even be told that (or, perhaps the director could write a letter of recommendation now that could be shared with the new director - as well as the college admissions folks)? And the fact that the current director was going to let S be an aide could somehow be shared with this new director, even if in an indirect/undemanding way.</p>
<p>Anyway, just a thought…after all, it DOES take a village, doesn’t it? Especially for kids like ours, whose disabilities are often hidden, and the “help” they sometimes need is nothing more than a little understanding - that although they may not have the social, outgoing, bubbly personalities that typically receive the “social” rewards in life, these kids can also have rich and rewarding social lives if given a chance!</p>
<p>aww…that sux! my GC left once but it was just in the beginning of my frosh year so that was ok :)</p>
<p>Just FYI, the teacher who was going to be his backup if he can’t get a letter from his departing choir teacher announced her resignation yesterday!</p>
<p>I’m finding out that our district pays senior teachers about $10,000 - $12,000 less per year than most neighboring districts, so we’re losing some excellent teachrs.</p>
<p>I got a recommendation from someone who never taught at my school. I just asked him in an email, he replied favorably, so I mailed some pre-stamped/addressed envelopes over to him and he sent them all out himself.</p>