Friday Folders

PARK HILL SCHOOL
WEEKLY BULLETIN

January 31, 2008

Dear Park Hill Families:

Happy New Year! We are making plans for next year and are most interested in implementing structures and organizing events that will forward our goal of increasing our student achievement. Please join us for Math/Literacy Night from 6-8 tonight to find out how you can support our efforts at home. We are having our annual Read-In tonight. We hope you will attend with your children (see details on the back of this letter)! Please note that our auction is fast approaching on February 9th, and everyone can bid online. The band at the event plays 60’s music and that will inspire many of us to dance. The week of February 14^th,we have declared as We Love Our Support Staff Week, so please find ways to say thank you for all they do to make our school work. I want to communicate about some structural changes for next year based on the Denver Plan, our School Improvement goals and choice patterns:

The 1^st/2^nd Grade classroom configuration will be changed next year to allow us to respond to new social studies and science standards that build from 1^st to 2^nd to 3^rd grade. We are excited about the opportunity to provide for the needs of your children by regrouping as needed in these key content areas. Children often move from school to school during the year and it has become very important that we provide curriculum that matches state standards by grade level. Starting in the fall, we will have straight grade levels; there will be three 1^st grade classes and three 2^nd grade classes. We can still be flexible in grouping for specific reading levels and will continue to differentiate. As a matter of fact, the straight grade level approach will allow us to identify the final teacher assignments to grade levels over the next couple of weeks and make that announcement by February 22^nd. We felt it was important to inform you of this decision. Please know that we will make every effort to make this transition as smooth as possible for your child.

After much consideration and conversations with affected parties, Park Hill has made the difficult decision not to recruit for 6^th grade next fall beyond our current 5^th grade classes. This resulted from a low number of our Park Hill 5^th grade parents expressing interest in continuing to 6^th grade. Our K-8 study has informed us that our parents are choosing traditional middle schools for the large number of curriculular and program options at nearby middle schools and magnet specialty programs. We have been working with the 9 families (out of a potential 66) who had expressed interest in continuing at Park Hill to choice into other schools. Our CSC is still looking at possible restructuring options based on information from the K-8 study, but because there is a chance of phasing out middle school over the next few years, it seems unfair to recruit new students for one section of 6^th grade if we cannot fill it with current 5^th grade students.

We are currently assessing enrollment for next year’s 7^th and 8^th grades. Please be assured that we are committed to providing the highest quality program to your student. In order to accommodate the changes in enrollment, our Upper Grades program may look different; it will most likely result in a program that focuses more on core curriculum and have less elective options. If you have a current 6^th or 7^th grader, we have sent home an “intent” form with your student to make accurate projections for next year. IT IS IMPERATIVE that we get this information from you. Please return this form as soon as possible.

I understand that the previous announcements may cause you to have questions. My office door is always open, at any time, to discuss any of these issues with you in person. Please feel free to stop by to see if I am free, or make an appointment with the school office. The office phone number is 303-322-1811. And although it may take a day or two for me to respond, you can also email me at tonda_potts@dpsk12.org. Please feel free to contact me with your questions and concerns.

On a separate note, Park Hill is currently looking for a 7-hour special-education paraprofessional to work one-on-one with a current student. The position is fully-benefited and the right person has a chance to work with a great team. The successful candidate should have at least an Associates Degree and have passed the Work Keys test. He or she should be a compassionate person and be able to do some lifting. For a full job description, please see the posting on the DPS website, under Park Hill job opportunities.

I appreciate all your support for the on-going success of Park Hill School. Together, we continue to make our school a fantastic place for all of our students to learn!

Sincerely,

Tonda Potts