Hello. I am extremely pleased to be here at Arbor Heights. In only a few
days I have been able to meet many smiling faces of students, parents and
staff. This school is outstanding, with a committed community and a staff
that is dedicated to providing the best educational experience for every
student. I am looking forward to meeting more of you in the weeks to come.Ed Balarezo
University of Washington Track and Field Tickets
We have a number of tickets available for the University of Washington Track
and Field meet on Saturday, May 2nd at 11:00 a.m. The event features
Washington vs. Colorado/Idaho. If you would like tickets please send a note
to the office and we will send them home with your child.
Testing
Grades 2 - 5 have began their ITBS testing this week. The fourth graders
will be taking the 4th grade WASL tests next week. We remind you to be sure
your child/ren get plenty of sleep and a healthy breakfast so that they have
the best opportunity to succeed.
No School
Wednesday, May 13th, is a Seattle School District Teacher Inservice Day.
There will be no school for students.
Carnival
The Arbor Heights PTSA Carnival is next Friday, May 1st. There have been a
number of informational fliers going home. Please plan on attending - it
promises to be a fun-filled evening.
Classroom Assignments
On the back of this bulletin is an informational letter regarding next years
classroom assignment procedures. I hope you will be able to take a few
minutes to read our policies. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Ed Balarezo
Principal
-----------------------------------------------------------------
CLASSROOM ASSIGNMENTS
Each spring our school staff begins the very important process
of placing students in classrooms for the next school year. A
great deal of time and effort is put into this process. We want to
be certain that each child is in the best learning environment
possible and that the classes are balanced in terms of size,
gender, ethnicity, academic level, student behavior, etc. The
process we use involves a great deal of input from the staff.
Every effort is made to be certain that the classes are balanced in
every way possible.
Arbor Heights has a strong teaching staff who do a fine job of
educating all of the children in the school. The cooperation and
support of the parents have helped to make this possible. We
always welcome parent input and we are always available to talk
with you about any aspect of your child's education. Requesting
specific teachers for your child, however, creates several problems
for all of us in the school community. First, we are never really
sure until August who will be teaching the various grades
(transfers, retirements, etc. sometimes occur during the summer).
Students might be very disappointed if they have their hearts set
on having a specific teacher so I make classroom assignments over
the summer. Second, not all requests can be honored if we're truly
trying to create balanced classes. It would be difficult to
explain to one parent why their request was not honored when that
parent may be aware of one or two cases where requests were
granted. Third, we are a public school and we do not discriminate
relative to student placement. By granting some requests and not
others we would be implementing a discriminatory practice. I'm
sure you can see that equity is the issue here.
While we do not want, and cannot honor, requests for a
specific teacher, we would be interested in looking at a letter you
may wish to write describing your child's learning style or
explaining any unique educational needs your child may have. For
those of you with children in kindergarten, you might like to
express an interest in either a straight grade level class or a
multi-age situation. We have both programs here and you might feel
that your child would do better in one or the other.
Please be assured that our staff takes the job of assigning
students to classrooms very seriously and we will work with you
throughout the year to see to it that your child gets the best
education possible.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Ed Balarezo
Acting Principal