Guidelines for Retention of Elementary Students

When a student is being considered for retention in the Elementary Schools, the following guidelines will be utilized: Identify the potential. During the months of March and April, a teacher who is considering the retention of a student in his/her classroom will communicate this to the building principal using the appropriate form. Initial discussion with parent(s). At the Spring Parent/Teacher Conference, the idea of retention will be initially discussed by the classroom teacher and the childs parent(s). Written documentation. Depending upon the results of the initial discussion at the time of the Spring P/T Conference, the appropriate followup letter will be sent to the parent, outlining the discussion relative to the childs retention and indicating that they will be invited to a P/T meeting in mid/late May to finalize the plan for the following year. Conduct Parent Meeting. By late May, a meeting between the parent(s) and teacher will be scheduled to come to an agreement relative to the proposed retention. Final documentation. At the time of the P/T meeting in late May or soon thereafter, a letter will be presented to the parents which will indicate: - parent agreement to the retention(signed/returned by parent) or - placement of the child in the next grade level, against the advice of the school/teacher. A copy of the appropriate documentation will be placed in the childs permanent record file. In arriving at a decision regarding retention, the teacher and principal should consider the following: -Use of Retention Scale -IST documentation -Teacher(s) input -Academic data -Parent(s) input -Special / individual consideration