Student Assignment Policy

At every school parents and teachers are interested in how students are assigned to various classrooms. Over time some parents form a bond with a particular teacher and desire their child's placement in a particular class. While such parent interest is quite natural and positive, it must be considered with the need for equity for all of our students.

Please consider that there are many reasons why some of our parents are either unable to be fully involved in our school, or for cultural reasons are not comfortable with making educational requests. The principal, with the support of the school community, must advocate for these students, assuring them equitable teacher time.

At West Woodland, we make every effort to organize our classrooms with attention to balance of need. We do this so that at every grade level students in each class can expect equity in the amount of time their teacher will have to give attention to each child.

These are a few examples of the circumstances requiring extra teacher time:

1. A student with learning difficulties will require additional oral explanation in lessons related to his/her learning problem and extra guidance as he/she works.
2. The teacher will give extra time to plan for a student who is gifted in an academic area.
3. Bilingual students need help in interpreting their lessons.
4. Some students need extra practice in following directions and in cooperation.

One practice that interferes with our ability to be as fair as possible is assigning students to particular teachers before the summer break. We cannot always predict which teachers will be here and teaching at a particular level. And, when we have a teacher in mind as we organize our classes, it is hard to be objective in achieving the balance required for equity.

We have clarified the classroom assignment process below:

In late May, parents will return a form advising us of their plan to attend West Woodland (yes, no or not sure.) With these responses, teachers at each grade level will meet and prepare two classes equally balanced as to gender, ethnicity, reading performance, independence, and ability to follow classroom routines (cooperation).

In the case of some students, a teacher may feel the need to make a recommendation for a particular teacher. These recommendations will be given to the principal in late June.

There may be a few parents who have strong educational reasons for requesting a particular teaching style. These parents may describe the child's need and leave the placement to the principal (since the principal has observed all of the teachers many times and in all subjects), or, based on these strong educational needs, may request a first and second choice teacher. These requests should be submitted to the school office no later than May 15.

Parents will be expected to make their requests in writing, indicating educational reasons for their choices. It should be apparent in their request why particular choices will make a difference in the potential success of the student assigned. At the same time, the school must recognize how important it is to parents to have a feeling of confidence in the teacher who will play a big part in the child's school year. While there can be no guarantee of being assigned to a particular teacher, the keeping of the balance in the classrooms is the priority that would interfere with honoring the wishes of the parent.

The principal will hold the class lists until August. In August those students whose parents indicated they were not sure they would be returning will be contacted. If they are not returning, their children's names will be removed from the class lists and the principal will make any moves needed to rebalance the classes. The principal will then assign a teacher to each organized class.

Finally, the principal will refer to the file holding teacher recommendations and any parent requests. Consideration will be given to the recommendations. An effort will be made to honor the first teacher choice by the parent while still keeping classes balanced as the highest priority.

In the week before the start of school, the final class lists will be posted on the doors of the school. Students who come by bus may call the school to find out their room numbers.