My daughter told me today that there's going to be a new kid in her class on Monday. She told me he is disfigured and badly scarred from a house fire he was in...
So tho I do see the teachers point in telling everyone he's coming so it's not a surprise. She obviously wants the kids to be kind and not shocked when they see him. Of course he deserves to be treated just like everyone else. My question is if he is to be treated like everyone else... should the teachers be "warning" the kids ahead of time?? I just wanted to hear some thoughts on this...

yes and yes. The decision to tell the children ahead of time is kind of an exception to the rule based on the reality of the situation I believe.

I attended elementary school with someone like that

The truth is physically this kid is not like everyone else.
Emotionally he is not like everyone else.
That being said, he needs to be teased like other new kids, accepted, tested, invited to join, just like any other new kid.

its a catch 22---they would have been shocked if the teacher didn't say anything...but is it right to warn? i say yeah

yes I think the teacher made the right decision. Like your child has done the children can talk to there parents about it and realize there is nothing wrong with the new child. It will make it much easier for them to accept him.

If the teacher thinks it's a big enough deal that she is considering "warning" the other kid's, I think she should have a meeting with this kid and his parents prior to his day in the class. Obviously they have been through this and could give the best insight and their own preferances on how they would like it handled. Why shouldn't the kid have a voice in the matter ?

One day I was in a restaruant and I saw two older adults with a girl about 8-9 yrs old. Looked like a grandparnent/grandkid situation.
They discussed what was on the menu, what they would order. It looked like it had been a busy day, a little bit of a dirty face on the little girl in a cute sort of way. What was different was the little girl was deaf. I could hear the adults were speaking, but it was interspersed with sign with the child. On the way out, the little girl asked for money for one of the candy/gumball machines, and the g'parents refused, she pouted.
What I realised was this was a little girl who just happened to be deaf.
Not a "Deaf Child", but a child.
Do you see the difference?

I think the teacher made the right decision, first depending on how bad the disfiguring is, kids are gonna be either scared or stare at him.

Second kids can be cruel and maybe warning them will make them think before they speak or act to him.

I agree with you.