JAY – Sixth-graders will have to pass all their classes for the year starting next fall. If they don’t, they’ll be going to summer school with upperclassmen who don’t pass classes in the seventh and eighth grade.
School Committee members voted to accept Middle School Principal Scott Albert’s changes to the school system’s Placement Policy to be effective for the 2003-2004 school year.
Seventh- and eighth-graders already must pass all their classes if they want to advance to the next grade. If they fail classes, they have to attend summer school.
But the sixth-graders were not covered under the policy.
Albert asked that the policy be amended to cover sixth- through eighth-graders.
The reason for this change, Albert said, is that as a staff, “We feel that students at the sixth grade level need to be held more accountable and to be better prepared when entering seventh grade.”
If the addition to the policy had been in place the last three years, it would have directly effected a total of 11 students, five of them this school year. Since the policy wasn’t in place, the students could go on to seventh grade without going to summer school.
Albert also requested a provision be added stating that in order for students to be eligible to take summer school their yearly average in the subject area must at least be a “50.”
The reason for this change, Albert said is that “we have some students by the end of the second trimester that cannot pass for the year and therefore stop doing any work in that class. This would force any student to give a certain amount of effort during the third trimester in order to be eligible to attend summer school.
If this addition to the policy were in place this year it would effect 10 students.
The third change is one Albert requested to remove a provision of the policy that is stated under exceptions to the policy: The Placement Appeal Committee will retain no identified special education student. The pupil evaluation team will make the placement decision in these cases.
The reason for this change, Albert said, is that the pupil evaluation team is only allowed to make recommendations they are not allowed to make retention decisions. It is the Placement Committee’s role and therefore it is imperative that it no longer states what is now written, Albert said.
dperry@sunjournal.com
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