I can hardly believe we are planning for the end of the 2022-2023 school year and the beginning of the 2023-2024. Although our mission and vision will remain the same, some things will look different. Due to projected decreases in enrollment of about fifty students, Jessup will no longer be a traditional two section school unless more students enroll over the summer. Right now, we are planning for one section of each kindergarten through fourth grades, one combination classroom of first and second grades and one combination classroom of third and fourth grades. We will have two sections of fifth and sixth grades. This means some grade level teachers will move to other buildings and we will move some others to different grade levels. Even with the changes, rest assured, the high-quality instruction, high expectations, and student success rates you and your students are accustomed to, will continue at Jessup.

One of the many things we do in preparation for next year is to review individual student’s kindergarten screening results, K-6 spring FastBridge screening scores, fourth quarter progress reports, and grades 3 through 6 preliminary summative WY-TOPP scores to determine school placement for the 2023-2024 school year. At this point in time, everything we plan is tentative and is subject to change based on August enrollments. You and your students will know who their teachers are prior to the start of the school year.

At Jessup, students are assigned to grade level classrooms based on their specific individual needs and the necessity to create heterogenous classrooms. Our placement goal is to assign each student, so he/she has the greatest opportunity for success. The process is based on the projected student enrollment numbers and the most current student information available. Faculty committees make recommendations, and the principal will make final class list decisions. Some factors considered when developing class lists include:

• Students’ intellectual, social, emotional, and behavioral developmental levels

• Fair distributions of students performing at different achievement levels

• Their preferred learning styles

• The social dynamics of the class

• The number of boys and girls

• The balance of leaders between classes

• The best use of resource and para staff

• Parental input

Parent requests for individual teachers will not be granted. Currently, we have two openings, so we don’t know who will be teaching at each level. If you have educational concerns and would like to provide information describing your child’s learning style, or other pertinent information please write a letter and submit it to the office before the end of the school year. Draft class lists are being created right now. As we get more information, as students move in and move out of our boundaries, and we receive summer school data, the lists will be updated.

Also, please recruit! If you know of individuals who will be a good fit for Jessup, please promote! We need a strong pool of candidates from which to hire. Ask them to monitor the district Human Resource page for openings at Jessup.

Respectfully,

Barbara Leiseth, PhD

Jessup Elementary Principal