In June of each year, our staff starts the class placement process for our upcoming school year. Our goal is to make balanced classrooms and optimal learning environments. This note is following a presentation that was made at the April 11th 2023 PAC meeting, and is designed to further assist parents to understand what it means (from the school’s perspective) when we endeavour to create “balanced classrooms and optimal learning environments”.

There are a number of student and school organizational considerations involved that we consider prior to making a placement decision. As a team of experienced, professional educators we are sensitive to the needs of each student and review these factors in an educationally sound manner to ensure the best placement possible for our students within existing school operational resources and constraints.

1. Student considerations in determining placement include:

   • Learning styles and strengths

   • Age and physical maturity

   • Past academic performance and term goals

   • Special learning needs

   • Degree of independence in work habits

   • Previous year’s placement including history of placement in the upper or lower grades of a

     combined class

   • Social and personal characteristics (friendships)

2. School organizational considerations include:

   • Creating heterogeneous (mixed ability) rather than homogeneous class groupings

   • Creating a balanced academic and social/emotional educational classroom setting

   • Equitable class size and composition assignments as defined by contract

     The process for creating balanced class groupings is as follows:

     STEP 1: Gathering information
     During the early part of June, our staff will collect and condense information for each student with respect to the student considerations listed above. Simultaneously, our Resource Teachers, our enrolling Teachers, and school Administration will work together to consider the placement of our children with special needs. We will collaborate to ensure balanced placements, honouring class composition guidelines determined by the Collective Agreement.

     STEP 2: Meeting together in Teacher grade groupings with the Administration and Resource Team In mid- June, we will combine the special needs placement information along with our knowledge of the children in a school setting to make the best placements we can with the resources provided and the constraints that exist within our system. The goal will be to create heterogeneous, cohesive groups of learners for a positive learning environment. The students will have an opportunity to provide their teacher a list of names of peers they would appreciate having in their class. Even though each school year represents an opportunity for students to make new friends, we will do our best to include at least one of the names on that list.

     STEP 3: Reviewing and adjusting

     At the end of June and during the first few days at school in September, the child’s present and future teacher,along with the Resource Team, and school Administration, will review the class composition to account for children who may have moved or who may have registered late and been placed in the school by the district’sstudent placement officer. Depending on the number of children coming and going over the summer, it mightmean that we’ll add a classroom to our organization, or take one away. In both instances, that could mean that we have to start the whole class placement process over again, and explains why schools can’t get into ourclassrooms officially on the first day of school.

     STEP 4: Tally Tool to assess balance
     Our last step to ensure class balance is that we utilize a tally tool that collects data on our balance. Should there be inequities, we’ll make adjustments.

   • PARENT INPUT:

   • You can see that since our process is designed to create “balanced classrooms and optimal learning environments” as much as possible, what would happen to that balance if the last step was for the school tohonour parent requests for child placement?

At the start of 2022 school year, we had so many requests that mathematically it was impossible to honour them all, so as a result some people were left feeling disappointed that they didn’t get their request met. That is no way to start the school year off on a positive note, and this practice does not lend itself to creating balanced classrooms.

We do appreciate input, but with regards to class placements, going forward, the teachers will be taking the lead. Teachers are acutely aware of their students’ strengths, stretches, and next steps to their learning. This information, along with the teacher knowledge of current and potential peer relationships, and the peer preferences the students have indicated will be taken into consideration.

Because we need to prioritize balanced learning environments over peer preferences, we will not be asking for parent requests this year. Of course, if there is new information that your child’s teacher needs to know about their learning, and you have not yet had an opportunity to discuss that throughout the year, then please by all means make sure that your child’s teacher is aware.

Again, we do appreciate new information, but we are discouraging private meetings and/or emails with teachers as a way to get your request in through the back door.

Please feel free to contact Mr. Juhasz or Mrs. Tse if you have any questions regarding this process.