In order to address some common questions regarding staggered reading in grades 1-3, please see the following responses to a few Frequently Asked Questions.
What is staggered reading and why is the District doing it next year? Due to the current District budget, classes in grades K-3 are going to thirty students for the 2012-13 school year. For several years, most of our elementary schools have had staggered classes in Kindergarten. Due to larger class sizes, this will be also be implemented in the other primary grades. About half of the students will come early for 45 minutes for targeted small group reading instruction.
After the 45 minutes the other half of the class arrives. At the end of the day the first group that came early leaves and the later group receives their 45 minutes of instruction.
When will the school bell schedules be available? School bell schedules
for the 2012-13 school year should be posted on school websites by July
1st.
When will I know what my child’s specific schedule will be? The first two weeks of school all students will be on the A Group schedule to allow teachers time to assess and place students in groups. Teachers will send home your child’s specific schedule for the year by Sept. 7 with regular staggered reading beginning on Sept. 10.
With the staggered schedule, are students attending school for the required number of instructional minutes? Yes, the State minimum for instructional minutes for grades one through three is 50,400 for the year. The new schedule is for 50,515 minutes.
How will students be grouped? Students in each session will be grouped based on skill-level with students of similar abilities. The groups will be flexible so that as students master key skills and are assessed, they may be moved to a different skill group.
Will my child’s schedule change if/when his/her ability or skill level changes during the year? Schools will have low, medium and high ability groups in both the morning and afternoon sessions. That way, if a child needs to change groups, his/her entire schedule does not have to change.
May I request the schedule my child has? Yes, you may make a request and teachers will do their best to accommodate families but because we need to balance groups and numbers, we can’t guarantee that all requests will be met.
What about child care for these students? District staff has notified child care providers of the change in the schedule for next year. The District will also continue to work with schools on supervision schedules.
