3520 - Promotion and Retention
3520 Promotion and Retention 3520
The Milford School District recognizes that children learn at different rates and through varying styles. The District is committed to supporting the academic success of each student through personalized learning strategies. In general, most students demonstrate progress toward grade level standards that results in their promotion to the next grade level. While research does not generally support retention as a long-term beneficial practice for children, on rare occasions, it may be best for some students to repeat a grade level.
Before considering a student for retention, it is important that school personnel and parents have met to discuss the student’s academic progress and that collaborative efforts to produce a successful school year for the student have been attempted. The decision to recommend the retention of a student in a grade level shall be carefully deliberated by school administration, teachers, and parents. Factors that influence the decision for retention include the child’s chronological age, physical size, academic, social, and emotional growth, and attendance. A review of the student’s personalized learning profile and cumulative file, an analysis of standardized learning assessments, and examination of appropriate teaching and learning strategies for the next school year shall provide information necessary to make the best placement decision for the student. Under no circumstances shall retention be considered for punitive reasons.
Each School Principal shall develop specific building-level procedures for retention decision-making that ensure that parents, except in unusual situations, are given adequate notification and input into the process no later than January 31st. Principals shall develop procedures that will study the reasons for a student’s lack of progress and that will support personalized efforts to attempt to enable the student’s success. Advancement from one grade to the next at the high school level shall be determined by earned credits.
As per the New Hampshire Department of Education’s Administrative Rules, final decisions of child placement shall rest with the Superintendent of Schools.
Adopted: 06/1980
Revised: 01/2008