Talent Show DVD’s Now Available

TALENT SHOW DVD’S NOW AVAILABLE! Your amazing children captured on video. Get yours before the school year is over!

The discs will be ready by Thursday so if you want one print out this letter with your name, your child’s name and teacher’s name and include $10.00 in cash or a check to PTA and send it in to school.

We will also be selling them at the lower San Jose gate this Thursday from 2:25 – 3:30 at the Palm Tree Wall event.

Bring cash or a check to PTA for $10.00!

Name: _________________________________________

phone # or e-mail ______________________________________

Number of DVD’s wanted : ___________ x $10.00 = __________

Child’s name ___________________________________________

Teacher’s name_________________________________________

Palm Tree Wall redux on Thursday after school

Did you miss getting your child’s handprint on the wall at the Spring
Fair? We doing it again after school on Thursday from 2:25 – 3:30
down by the lower San Jose Gate. It’s still $5.00 donation for a
print – or we’ll take Spring Fair tickets if you still have them. Get
your child’s handprint on the wall while those hands are still little!
Also – last chance for you graduating 5th graders!

Also – We will have the Talent Show DVD’s there for $10.00 each so
plan to pick up your copy Thursday!

The Green Bags and Canvas bags we have left from the fair will also be
out there so if you missed the chance to get one of these great
reusable grocery bags here is your chance. Proceeds from all of these
items go directly to programs for your children via the PTA.

Parent’s Requests

Dear Emerson families, Spring 2008

The staff and I are beginning our planning for next school year, and soon we will be sitting down to make up classes, based upon our best estimate of the enrollment projections for next year. About this time of the year, we begin to hear from some parents who want to request a specific teacher for their child for next year. They want “the best teacher” for their child and they believe they know who that is based on what they’ve seen or heard.

As the principal, I visit classrooms frequently for the purpose of observing teachers teaching and students learning. I know the instructional skills of every teacher better than anyone else in the school or the community, simply because I see them everyday teaching and interacting with children. I could not, in all honesty, tell you who the very best teacher on the faculty is, because there is no one teacher who is the best in everything. In talking about the “best teacher” one must specify, “Best in what area?” Teaching is made up of hundreds of sub skills, and no one is the best at all of them. Also, I have seen the instructional level of teachers vary significantly depending upon the character make-up of the class, the amount of parent involvement at home and the academic needs of the students.

When we assemble classes we consider these major factors and criteria:

• Equal class size in relation to other classes (K-3 are 20 :1)
• Well balanced ration of girls to boys
• Heterogeneous –balance of individual achievement levels
• Workable blend of student personalities
• Appropriate match between student and teacher
• Fair distribution of students with special needs
• Fair distribution of behavior ‘challenges’
• Effective clustering of English Language learners
• Consideration of student’s social needs
• Recommendation for teacher and student assignment
• Previous placement in a combination class

You can see this is a complicated process, and is based upon our first-hand assessment of each child. I do know that parents sometimes have preferences for teachers, however I cannot place children in classes only on the basis of the parent’s preferences or the teacher’s reputation in the community. Rather, we group children for instructional purposes, and placing them in a class based on any other factors would defeat that purpose.

However, a parent concerned about their child’s placement next year may make a written request based upon the needs of their child. The child may work best in a particular environment or with a certain style of teaching. If this is the case and you feel it necessary, you may submit a request, in writing by May 23, 2008 and then trust us to do the best grouping we can. The key ingredient in this process is trust. Please, trust teachers to make the best placement possible with all the information at their disposal. It is through the arduous process described above that we make a concerted effort to ensure each student’s success. We appreciate your trust and support and look towards next year with great anticipation.

Fondly,

Linda Acuff
LindaAcuff@burbankusd.org