Class Placement Letter For Parents

March 2018

Dear Ridge Raptor Parents/Guardians,

The Ridge faculty, you, and I feel that the placement of children in classes for the next year is a decision of great importance -- one that affects your child’s life at Ridge Elementary School for nine months.  The process we will use to place children in classes for the fall of 2018 is outlined below.

Please DO NOT request a specific teacher.  The most beneficial information you can share is related to the type of learning environment that best supports your child as a learner.  If you have information about your child and about the kind of learning environment in which he/she seems to function best, (i.e. highly structured classroom, nurturing) please share this by writing a note or email to Dr. Stacey DiBitetto before Monday, April 8th, 2018.  (Again, this is not a request for a specific teacher.)  Requests made after the April 8th date may not be honored since changes to class rosters can alter the entire make-up of a class. Please do not feel you MUST submit information.  The staff at Ridge Elementary School is excellent at identifying students’ strengths and areas that need to be supported.  Knowing your children as learners and understanding more about colleagues’ “styles,” allows the staff to make the best recommendation for next school year’s placement. 

Shortly after April 8th, the teachers at your child’s present grade level, other resource personnel, and administrators will meet to compile and discuss all the information we have about your child, and make class assignments utilizing the following factors:

• Student’s social and emotional growth
• Heterogeneous and rigorous academic grouping
• Balanced gender ratio
• Class composition in general
• Any other information that may be relevant

Please understand if there is a change of classroom personnel or an increase in student enrollment during the summer, this may result in a change of classroom assignment for your child. Any children affected by last minute changes will be notified by phone.

In making these important decisions, we want to consider all possible and relevant information.  Our goal is to make placements that will ensure the optimal learning environment for each child. Please contact us if you have any questions.

With integrity,

Dr. Stacey DiBitetto                                     Mr. Karl Lustrup

Principal, Ridge Elementary School                           Assistant Principal, Ridge

sdibitet@psd202.org                                                  klustrup@psd202.org