Dear Parents,
It is hard to believe that we are heading toward our last trimester of the 2010-2011 school year. During this time parents begin to look ahead to their child moving up to the next grade level, and with that comes many questions about student placement. I am writing to explain the process that is used so that you will have a better understanding as to how the decision is made.
I want you to know that this is a long, thoughtful process and my greatest priority is to balance the classrooms in order to provide the best possible learning experience for all the children. Creating class lists is a complex process that the staff and I take very seriously. Although the principal is responsible for approving the class assignments of children, I spend a great deal of time with staff carefully weighing the following factors before we make a decision.
- special needs - special situations -work habits
- instructional groupings- student abilities - class size
- learning styles - student academic needs - social dynamics
- student interests - heterogeneous balance
- boy/girl distribution - peer relations
We use existing assessment data, as well as teacher input during this process. The last consideration is the actual classroom teacher. The reason for this is because many things can change for teachers during the summer months (retirements, new jobs, etc.). My experience has been that children adapt to new classroom environments extremely well. However, occasionally there are a few children that require special consideration and there is a need to carefully place a child in a particular setting and we deal with these instances as they arise.
I ask that if you wish to share in a letter addressed to me any particular information you believe is important to your son or daughter’s placement that you do so by Tuesday, April 26, 2011. I will NOT honor any request for a particular teacher. However, you can describe your child as a learner and the type of classroom you believe he/she would most benefit from. If there are students who have a documented history of struggling socially with another student and you do not want your child placed in the same classroom you should communicate this concern directly to me in a letter and I will do my very best to honor the request, however, with a limited number of classrooms I cannot make guarantees.
Please understand that once classes are created the decisions are final. The entire staff works incredibly hard to honor this process so that we create well balanced classrooms for the children. Should you have any questions, feel free to contact me via phone or email.
Sincerely,
Mr. Middleton-Cox
