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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPR 614 CUR - Promotion - 1 - PR.614.CUR PROCEDURE PR.614.CUR TITLE: PROMOTION AND PLACEMENT OF JUNIOR KINDERGARTEN TO GRADE 8 STUDENTS Date issued: 20 June 2000 Last revised: 5 December 2001 Authorization: Senior Staff: 24 May 2000 1.0 OBJECTIVE To provide direction to schools when considering promotion and placement of JK to Grade 8 students. 2.0 DEFINITIONS In this procedure, 2.1 Placement in grades JK- 8 refers to the optimal location within the learning environment that meets the academic needs of the student. In addition, consideration will be given to the social, physical and emotional needs. Although these needs will usually be met through age appropriate settings, there may be exceptional circumstances which will determine that other settings will better meet the needs of the student. 2.2 Promotion in grades JK-8 is one form of placement and refers to a student moving onto the next grade level. 2.3 Levels of Achievement are described in the Achievement Charts in the Ontario Curriculum documents. Level 4 indicates that achievement exceeds the provincial standard. Level 3 indicates that achievement meets the provincial standard. Level 2 indicates that achievement approaches the provincial standard. Level 1 indicates that achievement falls much below the provincial standard. 2.4 Differentiation: Adaptations or adjustments to curriculum, delivery, student mode of expression, or assessment method(s) which may enable the achievement of expectations. 2.5 Modification: Adaptations of the expectations which may enable the achievement of expectations assessed against goals identified in an Individual Education Plan (IEP). Note: Program Modification for exceptional students would follow IPRC recommendations. - 2 - PR.614.CUR 3.0 RESPONSIBILITY 3.1 The promotion and placement of students is the responsibility of the school principal. 4.0 PROCEDURE 4.1 Consultation among principals, staff, parents, and students (as appropriate) is a significant part of the promotion and placement process (grade to grade, school to school, panel to panel). 4.2 Placement a) Promotion: Promotion is one form of placement. A student is promoted when overall achievement indicates that he/she is ready to work towards expectations at the next grade level. b) A student is placed, rather than promoted, when after applying one or more intervention strategies in 4.3.3 below, and consultation with staff, parents, and student (as appropriate), it becomes apparent that the student’s overall achievement indicates that he/she is not ready to meet the expectations at the next grade level. A student may be: (i) transferred to another program which is more suited to the student’s needs; (ii) placed in the next grade level with a plan of action that may include one or more of the intervention strategies mentioned in 4.3.3 below. When such placement involves another school, consultation will involve the receiving school. Normal school transfer procedures will be followed. (iii) retained at the current grade level with a plan of action that may include one or more of the intervention strategies mentioned in 4.3.3 below. c) In exceptional circumstances, grade or subject acceleration is an additional option for students exceeding grade level expectations. Such acceleration may be considered where the principal, parents, staff and student (where appropriate) determine that all other options have been explored and that this course of action is in the best interests of the student. This could include placement in a secondary school. 4.3 Progressing With Some Difficulty Towards Promotion, and Promotion at Risk a) The principal, in consultation with staff, parents, and students (as appropriate) will review the progress of students whose promotion is at risk or who are progressing with some difficulty and recommend a suitable plan of action, involving intervention strategies such as those noted below. b) Timely communication with parents regarding students who are progressing with some difficulty or whose promotion is at risk may include written reports, formal parent-teacher interviews, documented telephone conversations, informal interviews, IPRC documents, and IEP documents. Principals will ensure that records of such communication are kept. c) Intervention Strategies - 3 - PR.614.CUR Where resources permit, strategies may include, but are not limited to: (i) differentiation of curriculum scope, delivery, products and assessment; (ii) identification of new learning activities, related to the unachieved expectations; (iii) peer/volunteer assistance or tutoring; (iv) parent assistance (in collaboration with the teacher); (v) teacher-provided remedial help (outside regular class time); (vi) computer-assisted instruction; (vii) homework phone line to peer; (viii) an appropriate summer school remedial program (at the end of grade eight); (ix) withdrawal to Learning Resource Unit Teacher (LRT) teacher; (x) an IEP. 4.4 Students with IPRC Designation or Students with IEP a) Students who are identified as exceptional through the IPRC process as well as other students with an IEP will work toward the achievement of expectations appropriate to their grade level. However, their programs may be differentiated as indicated in the Individual Education Plan (IEP). If grade level expectations cannot be achieved by an exceptional student, expectations may then be modified to accommodate the student’s learning needs. If exceptional students are not working to grade level expectations, then age-appropriate placement is suggested. b) provided with a differentiated program that allows the student to explore the curriculum area in greater breadth and depth. However, the IEP may also indicate that expectations and standards should be “modif ied”(e.g. subject acceleration) to accommodate the needs of the student. 4.5 English Second Language and English Literacy Development a) Admission, Initial Assessment and Placement (i) Registration of new students who originate from outside Canada and/or do not have English as a first language requires consistency of practices within the Board. Many students new to the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board require an assessment and placement recommendation from the Family Reception Centre before registering at a school. Consistent adherence to this procedure is designed to promote a good beginning for these students. (ii) Who must come to the Family Reception Centre? Students whose first language is not English and are arriving from another country, another province in Canada, private schools within Canada, or another school district in Ontario. These include: (A) students who come from within Canada from a French school system; (B) students from within Canada who have been partially schooled in a native language; (C) students who come from a country where they speak a variety of English other than standard English; - 4 - PR.614.CUR (D) Canadian citizens who are returning to Canada after a year or more of study in a language other than English; (E) refugees (with student authorization); (F) children of diplomats*; (G) permanent residents; (H) children of parents who have a work or study visa* (with student authorization); (I) fee-paying students* *excluding English speakers from Great Britain, the United States, New Zealand and Australia Note: Canadian-born kindergarten registrants whose first language is not English register directly at the school. b) English as a Second Language (ESL)/English Literacy Development (ELD) Students for whom English is a second language require various levels of support on a continuum from ELD to Stage 4 (Advanced). Some of these students are given a designation of English Literacy Development (ELD, formerly ESD) because they have not yet developed literacy and numeracy skills in their first language to a level commensurate with their age; i.e., these students are two or more years behind their peers in their first language. Students who have developed literacy and numeracy skills in their first language to a level commensurate with their age are designated ESL learners. These learners progress through four stages of proficiency (Stages 1 to 4), as described in ESL checklists, Kindergarten to Grade Eight, posted in the ESL/ELD folder on BEAM, and the OCDSB Intraweb site. The checklists are used for assessment and evaluation purposes until the ESL learner is ready to be assessed according to provincial expectations. ELD, Stage 1 and 2 and, in general, Stage 3 learners should be evaluated according to these stages regardless of the subject area. Stage 4 learners are fully mainstreamed and ready to meet the provincial expectations for the most part, though they may occasionally require special consideration from subject teachers to achieve at provincial levels, especially in the area of writing. ESL/ELD descriptors, curricular accommodations and assessment strategies will be included in the Elementary ESL Resource Guide developed to accompany the elementary curricula (released - January, 2002). c) ESL learners should normally be placed in age-appropriate settings while they are progressing along the continuum to full integration. This progression may take from 5-8 years. The one-three year time period set out in the Ministry funding formula does not relate in any way to the language stages of ESL learners. In exceptional circumstances, other placements may be considered where the principal, parents, staff, and student (where appropriate) determine that all options have been explored and that this course of action is in the best interests of the student. The decision-making process for giftedness designation should - 5 - PR.614.CUR include making allowances which take into account the ESL student's current English language proficiency. d) Tracking and Demission Tracking each student’s progression through the four stages is critical to program changes and assessment and evaluation. ESL learners who demonstrate age-appropriate proficiency at the end of stage 4 of provincial descriptors are ready to be demitted from ESL. Parents and students must be included in the demission process. It is expected that all teachers involved in teaching the students will be included in the decision. Demission from the ESL designation requires entering in the school’s Student Information tracking system (Trillium, ESS) the date when the student was demitted (see Attachment 1, English as a Second Language Demission Form - Elementary). This form is to be kept in the student's OSR. 4.6 Suggested Plan a) A school may have a Promotion and Placement Committee which meets in the fall and the spring of each year, or as often as necessary during the school year. The committee may have the principal or designate as chair, a guidance counsellor (where appropriate), a LRT, a home-group teacher and any other concerned personnel as required. b) The role of the committee is to make recommendations to the principal regarding the promotion and placement of students, and possibly recommend suitable programming for students. c) When students change schools, the sending principal convenes the Promotion and Placement Committee and invites at least one representative from the receiving school to ensure that communication and detailed discussion regarding the placement and planning for these students are shared by all concerned (See Attachment 2, Promotion and Placement Planning Form). d) Communication with parents by members of the Promotion and Placement Committee may include written reports, formal parent-teacher interviews, documented telephone conversations, informal interviews, IPRC documents, IEP documents. Records of such contacts are kept by the principal and/or designate. e) Reporting about a student’s progress to the principal by the Promotion and Placement Committee includes a written report that clearly describes, in relation to grade level expectations: (i) what the student is able to do (student portfolio may serve as part of this process; (ii) areas requiring further attention/development; (iii) ways of supporting the student’s learning (intervention strategies); (iv) a recommendation for student placement at the end of the school year. f) ESL and Standardized Testing Standardized tests cannot be read against the norms until the ESL learner has had five years in an English milieu. Some tools can be used before that time, but - 6 - PR.614.CUR must be read through an “ESL” lens. Students who are thought to have special needs can usually be identified through case conferences attended by parents, all educators involved with the child (homeroom/subject teachers, ESL teacher/coordinator, LRT, SLC) and administrators. This will be an effective way of creating a picture of the child as a learner. The group, then, can make recommendations for programming. Note: ESL learners have the right to a dual designation and support when learning exceptionalities can be equitably identified. 5.0 APPENDICES Attachment 1: OCDSB 100: ESL Demission Form - Elementary Attachment 2: OCDSB 105: Promotion and Placement Planning form 6.0 REFERENCES The Education Act, 2000 Operation of Schools – General, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 298/Reg. 306 Identification and Placement of Exceptional Pupils, O.R. 181/98 Principles for Fair Student Assessment Practices for Education in Canada. OCDSB Special Education Comprehensive Plan, 1999 Elementary ESL Resource Guide, 2002 Board Policy P.083.CUR: Student Achievement and Evaluation Board Procedure PR.582.CUR: Student Evaluation Committee Board Procedure PR.583.CUR: Student Evaluation – Elementary Students Board Procedure PR.585.CUR: Use of Commercial Standardized Tests OCDSB 100 (CUR) (01/12) - 7 - PR.614.CUR PR.614.CUR Attachment 1 English as a Second Language Exit Form - Elementary Student's Name: School Name: Grade: Age: Date of Enrollment in ESL Program: ____________________ (m/d/y) ___________________________(name of student) is exiting the ESL program, effective ____________________ (m/d/y). Additional comments (e.g., strengths exhibited by the learner, areas for further support, accommodations to consider, etc.) ESL Teacher ______________________ Homeroom Teacher _______________________ Principal _______________________ Notice of Collection: The personal information on this form is gathered under the authority of the Education Act (R.S.O. 1990 c.E.2) ss. 58.5, 265 and 266 as amended , as well as Immunization of School Pupils Act and the Personal Health Information Protection Act, and will be used by the school and central administrative staff to register and place the student, and to provide a broad range of academic, health and administrative services. In addition, the information may be used to deal with matters of health and safety or discipline and may be disclosed as required by law under the Education Act or any other Act. Anyone having the right may access this information by contacting the principal of the school. For questions about this collection, speak to the school principal. Specific questions can be directed to Freedom of Information Coordinator at OCDSB -Administration Building, 133 Greenbank Road, Ottawa, ON, (613) 596-8211. Original – OSR Copy – Parents/Guardians PR.614.CUR - 8 - PR.614.CUR Attachment 2 Promotion and Placement Planning Form (Students not meeting expectations, Grades JK-8) NAME: SCHOOL: Date of Birth: Grade level: Current Date: PERTINENT O.S.R. HISTORY (e.g., previous retention) PREVIOUS SCHOOLS (Contact Person) CURRENT EXPECTATIONS NOT ACHIEVED Subject Specific Strand/Expectations PROGRAM DIFFERENTIATION TO DATE: RECORD OF COMMUNICATIONS WITH PARENTS TO DATE: (Interviews, Telephone Discussion) FURTHER RECOMMENDED DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGIES Recommended Placement Committee Chair