Newton Local School District
Bylaws & Policies
 

5410 - PROMOTION, ACADEMIC ACCELERATION, PLACEMENT, AND RETENTION

The Board of Education recognizes that the personal, social, physical, and educational growth of children will vary and that they should be placed in the educational setting most appropriate to their needs at the various stages of their growth.

It is the Board’s intent that each student be moved forward in a continuous pattern of achievement and growth that is in harmony with his/her own development.

Such pattern should coincide with the system of grade levels established by this Board and the instructional objectives established for each.

Promotion:

A student will be promoted to the succeeding grade level when s/he has:

 A.completed the course and State-mandated requirements at the presently assigned grade;

 B.in the opinion of the professional staff, achieved the instructional objectives set for the present grade;

 C.demonstrated sufficient proficiency to permit him/her to move ahead in the educational program of the next grade;

 D.demonstrated the degree of social, emotional, and physical maturation necessary for a successful learning experience in the next grade.

Academic Acceleration:

A student may be accelerated when his/her demonstrated achievement, as well as measured ability, significantly exceeds that of his/her grade level peers. Consideration may be given to promoting him/her to a grade other than the next succeeding one (i.e., whole-grade acceleration), or permitting him/her to enroll in a course other than the next one in the academic sequence (individual subject acceleration). A student will be accelerated in this manner when s/he has:

 A.achieved the grade/course objectives and State-mandated requirements, if applicable, for the grade/course in which s/he is presently enrolled as well as for the grade(s)/course(s) that will be skipped;

 B.in the opinion of the professional staff, achieved the instructional objectives set for the present grade/course as well as the succeeding one(s);

 C.demonstrated sufficient proficiency to permit him/her to be accelerated in the educational program;

 D.demonstrated the degree of social, emotional, and physical maturation necessary for a successful learning experience in the grade/course to which s/he will be promoted or enrolled.

Retention:

A student may be retained at his/her current grade level when s/he has in the opinion of the professional staff, failed to achieve the instructional objectives set forth at the current grade level that are requisite for success at the succeeding grade level.

A student may be placed at the next grade level when retention would no longer benefit the student.

Following sound principles of child development, the Board discourages the skipping of grades.

The Superintendent shall develop administrative guidelines for promotion, academic acceleration, placement, and retention of students which:

 A.require the recommendation of the relevant staff members for promotion, academic acceleration, placement, or retention;

 B.require that parents are informed in advance of the possibility of retention of a student at a grade level;

 C.assure that every effort will be made to remediate the student's difficulties before s/he is retained;

 D.assign to the principal the final responsibility for determining the promotion, academic acceleration, placement, or retention of each student.

Occasionally, the parents/guardians and school may disagree as to the advisability of retention. The Board thus directs that a mutual agreement be made when possible. However, if such cannot be arrived upon, the school shall promote/place the child the first year but so note its disagreement with parents/guardian on an appropriate form. If in following year(s), the administration and teachers again see retention as desirable and the parents/guardian disagree, retention may transpire over the objection of said parents/guardian.

R.C. 3313.608, 3313.608(D), 3313.609, 3313.647, 3324.10
A.C. 3301-35-02 (B) (5)

Revised 10/21/99
Revised 10/6/06
Revised 10/26/11

© Neola 2006