1. Please request a Parent Information for Student Placement Form from the Pomona office. We will consider parent input carefully before making any placement decisions. Please note that requests for an individual teachers cannot be honored.
2. If you have more specific information to share, write a letter indicating the single most important factor you would like us to consider. If you have more than one factor, please prioritize them. All letters are reviewed carefully by the sending and receiving teams and the Principal before the class lists are finalized. Send your letter to the office to my attention no later than Friday, April 18th. Letters received after this date cannot be considered because our placement process has already begun. Making changes in placement after the process has begun because of letters received after the due date compromises not only the hours already invested, but other  priorities as well. Please note that your comments will be shared with teachers after I have read them. Also, remember that requests for an individual teacher cannot be honored. The process of placing students is multi-faceted, rendering it impossible to honor parental requests for specific teachers.

Writing a letter or providing information on a Parent Information for Student Placement Form is voluntary and you can be assured that the same care and consideration will be given to the placement of each child whether or not a letter is sent  or a form is completed.

Thank you for your understanding.

Don Davidson, Principal

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Pomona Elementary Student Placement Policy Goal

Pomona Elementary School uses a classroom placement process to assign students to a classroom for the next year.  The goal of the classroom placement process is to ensure that each grade level has balanced classrooms—classrooms in which all children will thrive and that any teacher would be happy to teach.

The process is accomplished through the following steps:

Step 1.  Initial Class Groupings and Assignment of Teachers

The current teaching team, or sending team, develops a whole grade profile to begin the process.  Each profile summarizes the entire mix of students in a specific grade. 

The sending team then groups these students into balanced classrooms for the next year’s teaching team, or receiving team, and tentatively assigns each balanced group to a receiving team teacher.  Each classroom must have:

• gender balances
• racial balances
• diverse student achievement levels
• balance of number of students with special needs
• balance of student maturity and behavior levels, and
• balance of any other physical/and or health needs.  
• balance of learning styles
• consideration of teaching styles

Student mobility and concerns about specific student relationships that have come to the attention of the sending teams during the current school year are also considered in the process.  An effort is made to place each student with at least one friend but this cannot always be assured.  Depending on circumstances, certain children may or may not be separated. The sending team considers many forms of input from teachers, staff, administration, and parents/guardians. 

Attempts to be fair to all students are made.  However, because of the complexity of the balancing process, individual parent requests for certain teachers cannot be honored.

A parent or guardian may provide specific information about his/her child’s learning style by submitting a Student Information Form.  These forms are available in the Pomona office each spring and must be returned to the office by the deadline established.  Only the sending team and the principal will review these forms prior to the beginning of the classroom placement process.

Step 2.  Staff Specialist Review

After the initial class groupings, the staff specialists (e.g., art, music, media, physical education, etc.) review and check the class groupings and tentative teacher assignments and may make recommendations.  The sending team then reviews any recommended changes.

Step 3.  Principal’s Review

After the staff specialist review, the principal and the sending and receiving teams finalize the classroom groupings and the tentative teacher assignments. 

Step 4.  Notice to Parents/Guardians on Classroom Assignments

Factors, such as staff or enrollment changes occurring during the summer, must be taken into consideration when assigning students to classrooms.  To reduce student and parent confusion or frustration regarding classroom assignments, Montrose School District encourages parents and guardians to sign up on Parent Portal through Pomona’s front office.  This allows flexibility to accommodate any summer changes while allowing communication to occur with parents over the summer months.

Step 5. Reconsideration of Classroom Assignments

Parents or guardians who receive classroom assignments and believe that a change is essential for their child to have a successful school year should send a letter to the principal stating the reasons a change is necessary.  The sending team in consultation with the principal will discuss the concerns and make a final determination regarding the requested change.  Absent a showing of extraordinary circumstances, initial classroom assignments will remain in place due to the complexities of scheduling described earlier.  A member of the sending team or the principal will notify the parent or guardian of the decision prior to the first day of school ans we will make every effort to assure your child experiences success in their assigned classroom.

Don Davidson, Principal

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