Class Placement Policy

Our teachers spend many hours and put much professional thought and effort into placing their present students into next year's classes. Our teachers consider a variety of factors as they place your child. Requests for specific teachers are not appropriate and will not be considered when student placement is made

Grades 1 - 5

The staff considers many factors as classroom groups are prepared. Areas taken into consideration are: range of academic abilities; numbers of boys and girls; leadership skills-- academic, social, and athletic; individual learning styles; behavior, special education needs; students benefiting from being together or separated; student personality and interaction; and class size. The objective of the process is to produce the most “workable” heterogeneous combination of student groups. This important task contributes significantly to the creation of a positive class environment that enables students to reach their potential. We cannot speculate at this time on staffing assignments as these may change over the summer due to a number of factors including enrollment, number of class sections needed at each grade level, and staff preferences for grade level assignments.

Although we have not completed our preliminary forecasts for how many sections of each grade we will need, each year brings the likelihood of having some combination classrooms. How many and at which grade levels has yet to be determined. Knowing that there is the possibility of combination classes, we do our very best to bring together students who will work well together and place an experienced teacher in those classrooms.

Why are they necessary? With class size limits set at strict guidelines of 24 to 1 in the primary grades and the economic necessity of filling each classroom to its maximum size, there is very little wiggle room. On a practical level, this means for example that if one grade level has 84 students, there will be 3 classes of 24 to 1 and a combination class with 12 students of one grade and 12 of another grade. In the grades 4 and 5, there is a little more flexibility as we can staff at 27-29 students per teacher. Our commitment to the community is that Parcel Tax funds are used to lower class size in grades 4-8. The economics of school funding necessitates that each class be as full as possible. It is not economically possible to support very small classes, below the 20 to 1 limit or to exceed the guidelines promised in the Parcel Tax.

The Blossom Hill staff takes classroom placement of all children very seriously and wants only the best for each child. Our goal is to provide fair and equitable treatment for all children as a means to encourage and support their learning. Please rely on our professional judgment, and trust that we will group children to provide the best possible learning environment. . It has been my experience that nearly all children are able to adjust rapidly to the different teachers they have over the years. This, too, is an important skill to learn--learning to get along with and work with a variety of people. (When students enter 7th grade, they will have a minimum of 6 different teachers and could have as many as 12 different teachers in one year.)

Posting of Class Lists: While we understand that parents are anxious to learn whom their children will have for a teacher, it is a district practice to post class lists no sooner than the Friday prior to school opening. This is due to fluctuations in enrollment over the summer that often result in our having to make adjustments in class assignments. When placements are announced, your cooperation and support of this process provides the best possible outcome for students and staff.