LETTER: AMS Student Placement

It is once again that time of year when we begin the task of gathering information for the purpose of scheduling students in classes for the next school year. We use several resources in the placement process: guidance counselors, classroom teachers, administrators, and parents.

A variety of factors are considered for student placement. When determining the student composition of our classes, we strive to create a balanced environment. This is an important aspect of scheduling and one that we consider carefully. It is our goal to create a positive and challenging educational climate for all students. To this end, we work to balance classrooms by gender, personality traits, and abilities. We also consider the potential impact of relationships that may interfere with learning.

The responsibility for creating this positive learning environment rests with us. Our scheduling effort begins with a review of our teaching teams. Being a school with an excellent staff and wonderful students, our goal is to balance teaching teams by considering individual diversity of skills, teaching styles, and experience. Well-balanced teams provide the best opportunity for any student to succeed regardless of where they are placed. In recent years, there have been several team reconfigurations, and I anticipate more.

The next step in the process is a review of students with potential placement considerations such as learning disabilities, behavioral concerns, and identified peer-relationship issues. The guidance counselors here at AMS, at Wilkins and Mont Vernon provide valuable placement input based on their experience with students and information provided by parents and teachers.

Class lists are then created and reviewed for gender balance and “class chemistry.” In this phase, we are looking for a well-balanced group. We consider the overall abilities and composition of the students in both classes and teams. Teacher feedback constitutes the final tweaking of the class lists and teams. It is a long and careful process.

Allow me to make a very important point about parent input in the placement process. It is not necessary to write me a letter to ensure a “good” placement. If you feel it is necessary to write a letter, I ask that you only focus on the unique educational needs of which we may not already be aware. I read and give due consideration to every letter submitted, however, please do not request a particular teacher or team, or that your child be placed with friends or group of friends! This has become more of an issue in recent years. Friendships often change, and a valuable part of the Middle School experience is making new ones. Parents never pick teachers or teams. If there are substantial friendship issues, they should be discussed with the guidance counselors now since they have input into the placement process. 

Letters regarding your child’s placement issues must be received at the Middle School no later than Friday, April 20, 2012. If you have concerns, they must be put in writing. Information from past years does not necessarily get considered, simply because as children grow and change, their peer-relationship issues and educational needs change as well.

In certain cases, where a sibling or parent experienced prior issues with a particular teacher, it may make sense to consider scheduling the student on one of the other teams, so it is important that you be specific regarding your concerns. Granting parental input for anything other than sound educational reasons would undermine the integrity of our process and cannot be honored. Once the students are placed, any move creates an imbalance between team numbers and in some cases a move is impossible because of a student’s reading or math levels. Rarely does any move occur; only in cases where there is specific educational justification is a child moved to another team. Again, in order for such information to be considered, it needs to be submitted prior to the April 20th deadline. Once the schedules are made, they will not be changed.

We have worked very hard to earn and keep your trust and our integrity in the placement process. I hope this helps you understand the complex process, and I thank you in advance for your support.

Porter Dodge

Principal, AMS