Summer School and Class Size
May 20, 2008
Normally we have offered summer school to our students during June or early July. In an effort to better meet the needs of students, this year our elementary summer school will be held in the three weeks immediately preceding the start of the 2008-2009 school year. Parents have been notified about summer school by the building principals and our plans are to have at least one classroom providing summer school in each of the three elementary buildings (Northfield, Lincoln and Geil).
The primary reason for the time shift was to allow students a break following the school year and give them a jump start so they are better prepared for next school year. If you have any questions concerning your child’s participation in summer school, please contact the building principal. If your child has been identified for this opportunity, please take advantage of it.
We are in the process of developing plans for next year. Due to legislative changes this year and in order to maximize our state aid, we will make every effort possible to reduce our classroom size in grades K-3 to a maximum of twenty students. The new state aid formula provided additional money if classrooms are greater than 10, but less than 20 students in grades K-3 for the 2008-2009 school year. We receive state aid money based on factors from the previous year. Money received this year is generated from factors last year. The challenge we face is that our space is limited. Even though we added a number of classrooms, we do not have all of the classrooms needed to trim all of the K-3 classrooms to within this range. We will need to move students to balance present classes. We will contact parents to assist with the possible moves. If you are changing residences during the summer, please inform your school as this can help in balancing our present classes. Our classrooms and staffing plans provide the needed classrooms for kindergarten and first grade. Depending on enrollment, we might consider balancing second grade as well next year.
All four elementary schools provide the same curriculum and opportunities for our students. Cedar Canyon has a couple of classrooms we plan to fully utilize next year. We are in the process of reviewing the best possible long-range utilization of Cedar Canyon. Our goal is to review options (pros and cons of each) with the Board so they can make an informed decision early next year. Implementation would be for the 2009-2010 school year.
I want to thank parents for their patience and willingness to work with us as we make the necessary adjustments to provide maximum funding through state aid. Our district is very dependent upon state aid due to the low per-pupil assessed valuation of the district. More than 50% of our revenue comes from state aid.
