Pond Cove School | Middle School | High School

POND COVE PLACEMENT PROCEDURE

At the end of the third quarter parents will be invited to provide feedback about the learning environment in which their child will be most likely to succeed. That information will be forwarded to the teacher with whom your child has been placed.

Each grade level team and the administration will carry out a series of meetings to develop reasonably balanced classrooms for next year. The criteria for creating the class groupings are as follows:

-Language arts/math level
-Heterogeneous balance
-Gender balance
-Consideration of negative peer relationships
-Special Education needs

If there is any parental information that applies to the placement criteria it will be reviewed by the administration.

Upon completion of the team meetings, class groupings will be assigned to individual teachers by the administration.

Parents will be notified by mail of their child's next year placement at the end of the current school year. In that letter parents will be apprised of the appeal process.

Kindergarten placement will be carried out by the administration subsequent to the kindergarten entry screening. Parents will be notified as soon as possible after the compilation of classes is completed and teachers are assigned.

ADOPTED: May 9, 1995
REVISED: February 12, 2008

In the spring, parents and guardians will be given the opportunity to submit input to the Principal or Guidance Counselors about their child’s learning style and educational needs. Teacher selection is not allowed.

Fourth and fifth grade teachers will provide year-long student performance information about incoming fifth and sixth grade students to the Principal and Guidance staff, who will then determine student placement. The grade level team and Support Services staff will review the initial placements and provide necessary feedback to the Principal and Guidance staff.

The Guidance staff will collect input for seventh and eighth grade students. In the spring, each incoming seventh and eighth grade student will complete a course selection sheet with his or her parents. The sheet will include teacher recommendations for programming. Both teacher and parental input will be considered, as the Principal and Guidance staff individually schedules each student.

Step Up Day for each grade will be in the spring for the upcoming school year. Students going into grades five and six will receive their homeroom placement for Step Up Day. Seventh and eighth grade students will attend Step Up with a sample of core subject teachers. It is the intent of the Principal and Guidance staff that all students will receive their core teacher assignments on the last day of school. No student will be given that information prior to the last day. Specific schedules will be provided on day one of the new school year.

Guidelines for candidacy and selection to accelerated math and language arts programs are attached.

Incoming grades’ five through eight placement appeals will be made directly to the Guidance staff. Parents or students must make this request in writing. The Principal and Guidance staff will make final placement decisions after carefully considering the input from all interested parties. Families will be notified in writing of the results of the appeal. Grade eight appeals will be made directly to the high school Guidance Office.

HIGH SCHOOL POLICY ON STUDENT PLACEMENT

Placement of students in courses at different levels should be the result of student, parent, teacher, Guidance counselor and department collaboration. In considering placement decisions, the guiding questions will be:
• What is best for the student?
• Where is the student most likely to be both challenged and successful?
• In the case of a student who wishes to be placed in a class beyond the teachers’ recommendation, what evidence is there of the students’ seriousness of purpose, work ethic, and underlying ability to be successful?
• How does a decision in a particular case affect class size and overall scheduling concerns?
The course selection and scheduling procedure of the high school will ensure that all the interested parties are involved. Although every effort will be made to listen to student and parent input regarding a student's course selection and enrollment, initial placement decisions rest in the hands of each department in consultation with the student’s counselor. In the event of a disagreement with the placement decision, final decision rests in the hands of the principal. Any questions about course selection should be addressed to the appropriate department chairperson and the student's counselor.
It is the intent of this policy to place initial, fundamental decision-making about course placement in the hands of the departments in consultation with the student’s Guidance counselor. If any student or parent is in doubt about the appropriateness of a department's placement recommendation, they may contact the principal. The school administration will ensure that the appeals process described below fairly hears parent and student concerns in the event that they disagree with a placement decision.
Administrative Process for Placement of Students?
In late winter, students and their parents will receive materials for course selection including a course guide and a course selection sheet. Each student should review the courses offered and make tentative selections for the following year with the advice of their parents. Concurrently, the student's teachers will advise him/her on the appropriate course selection for the following year and will note their recommendation on the student's course selection sheet.
Honors Course Placement Policy?
Student placement in honors courses will depend on the average grade for the first three quarters of a given school year. Students who earn a grade of 85 or better in their current (most recent) Honors Course within a department may elect an honors course. Students whose earned grade average for their current (most recent) course, regardless of the level, is 80 or below may not, except in exceptional circumstances, elect an honors course. All other students who are interested in being selected for an honors course should submit a letter of interest to the appropriate department chair explaining why they wish to enroll in a particular honors program. Each department will use a placement screening process appropriate to its curriculum. The review could include a student's previous grades in the subject, a recommendation from the student's current teacher, appropriate tests other representations of the student's work, and an interview with the student.
In the event that the student and department do not agree on placement, the student or parent may ask for a review conference with an appeals committee, chaired by the Principal, composed of the department chairperson, the Principal and the student's counselor. The major focus of the committee's review of placement will be the students past performance in department courses, testing results, written samples of the student's work, input from the student's current teacher, parent(s) and the student and evidence of the seriousness of purpose, work ethic, and underlying ability of the student to be successful. The responsibility for the final decision in any review process rests with the Principal.
Special Considerations for Advanced/AP Courses.
The placement and appeals process for AP and Advanced courses will be the same as above for Honors courses, except that all students who wish to take an AP class may be required to attend an informational meeting with the teacher and/or to participate in an appropriate screening process designed to assess their readiness skills, and students will normally be expected to attain a 90 or above in their previous Honors class in order to be accepted. This is not, however, a hard and fast rule; other students are welcomed and encouraged to apply for AP courses, and their cases will be fairly considered. Special considerations in the case of AP course placement are as follows:

• Class size. Some AP classes are designed as seminar classes. It is recognized that seminar classes normally should not exceed 15-20 students.

• AP exam. Students who take AP classes (except Foreign language V and VI) are required to take the AP exam in the subject. Students who need financial assistance in order to take the exams should apply through the guidance office.

School Responsibility
In adopting this guideline, it is the School Board’s intent to endorse a process in which students feel encouraged to challenge themselves and are most likely to be successful, yet is consistent with maintaining academic rigor. The school will clearly and simply communicate this process to all students and parents so that it is open, understandable, and transparent.

Recoded: June 1998
REVIEWED AND ACCEPTED: March 24, 1994
REVISED: February 12, 2008

Cross Reference: File JG: Student Placement Within the Schools