Adopted:          05/21/2001                                                                 

Revised:           04/20/2009                                                                              345.4

School District of Prairie Farm

Grade Advancement Policy - 4th and 8th Grade

The philosophy of the Prairie Farm School District is for all students to achieve their optimal level of learning based on high levels of expectation and consideration of their abilities and needs.  We recognize that students have diverse capabilities, interest, and individual patterns of growth and learning.  Therefore, the School District of Prairie Farm also acknowledges the need for, and importance of, multiple measures of student achievement to create a clear and detailed picture of a student's readiness for promotion to a higher grade.

We understand that learning also occurs outside of the regular classroom environment.  Therefore, for the purpose of this policy, the word "teacher" not only includes the student's present classroom teachers, but also the student's prior classroom teachers and any other education professionals (employed by the Prairie Farm School District) who are able to provide information about his/her readiness for promotion to a higher grade.  This may include but is not limited to, the student's Principal, Guidance Counselor, or School Psychologist.  Because the promotion of students from the 4th to the 5th grade and from the 8th to the 9th grade is affected by State Statutes (ss. 118.33 (6)(a), this Grade Advancement Policy applies to such promotions.  Other District policies relating to promotion of students apply if they are not inconsistent with this policy.  Beginning on September 1, 2002, no student may be promoted from 4th to 5th grade or from 8th to 9th grade unless he/she satisfies the criteria for promotion in this policy.  

Meeting or exceeding the minimum requirements of two of the four criteria will result in the student's promotion to a higher grade level.  For those students excused (opted out by parents) from taking the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam (WKCE), decisions will be based on the other three specified criteria.

Some students enrolled in Exceptional Education (EEN) programs and some students for whom 504 plans have been developed, may be exempt from all of part of this policy.  Their requirements for promotion are determined by their Individual Education Plan (IEP) or their 504 Individual Accommodation Plan.

TEACHER RECOMMENDATION

A student who does not meet the Academic Performance criterion may secure a Teacher  Recommendation to qualify for promotion.  The criterion for securing a Teacher Recommendation will be receiving a majority vote (for promotion) from a student's Teacher Recommendation Team (see process below).  This recommendation must be based upon documented assessment of that student's performance.  The assessments for this criterion might include:  standardized test, unit tests, teacher-developed tests, daily assignments, projects, performances, presentations, work habits, report card grades, independent projects, portfolio information, service learning, advanced or remedial placement studies, or any other assessment of academic performance attesting to a student's readiness for promotion.

The process for securing a Teacher Recommendation is described as follows:

1. The Principal will announce and chair a meeting that will decide whether or not to grant a teacher recommendation.
2. The teacher recommendation criterion will be a team decision.  The members of the team will include the following:
• The Principal
• The Guidance Counselor
• The teachers who have worked with the student during the current year
• Any special services teacher who has worked with the student
• Other school staff deemed appropriate by the Principal
3. Decisions of this ream will be based on a majority vote of all those present.
4. A student who meets the Teacher Recommendation criterion will be promoted to the next grade.

OTHER ACADEMIC CRITERIA

A student who does not secure a Teacher Recommendation, as described, may meet other Academic Criteria to qualify for promotion.  A student may be promoted to the 5th or 9th grade if that student has successfully completed an approved remedial curriculum program prior to the start of the following school year.  The student's remedial curriculum program will be determined by the Teacher Recommendation Team.  That remedial curriculum program should be designed to improve the student's proficiency in academic areas that need remediation.  Successful completion of the remedial curriculum program will be determined by the District Administrator, Principal or the remedial instructor.