308 – Student Placement and Promotion (Grade Acceleration)

SUBJECT:                            Student Placement and Promotion (Grade Acceleration)

EFFECTIVE:                         November 7, 2022

REVISED:                            

PURPOSE:                           To give students, who are achieving learning goals at an accelerated pace, opportunities for advancement within grade levels.       

REGULATION:

Anglophone North School District recognizes the consideration of grade acceleration as an option for students under specific circumstances. Identification of such students shall be multidimensional rather than based on a single measure of intelligence or on a single instrument.  Any consideration for grade acceleration will be initiated at the discretion, and based upon the recommendations, of school-based personnel.

1. If a student is being considered for grade acceleration, a case conference meeting of the school-based Education Support Services Team consisting of administration, ESST-G, ESST-R, a district representative, and teachers will be held on or before May 31^st of each academic year.  A copy of the minutes must be included in the school-based Education Support Services Team minutes.

• Discussions at the case conference should include, but will not be limited to, an identification of the student’s strengths and challenges as they relate to social-emotional, academic and motivational development.  Evidence must be provided as to the student’s previous participation in enrichment opportunities such as curriculum compacting, mentoring, inquiry-based learning, flexible grouping, differentiation, competitions, and/or independent studies, as well as formal assessments on cognitive, academic, social-emotional, and behavioural functioning.

• Following the case conference, the committee will decide on the placement of the student and recommend a plan of action to be followed.  This plan of action should include opportunities for continued enrichment, measures to address gaps in skills, strategies for social-emotional skills building, as well as any other elements, such as parental support and student motivation, which the school-based team deems necessary for the student’s continued academic success.

• Students may be permitted to complete grades Kindergarten through eight in eight years.  Grade acceleration should be considered a trial placement and the option of returning to age-appropriate placement should be clear. Consideration of a student’s social-emotional development and wellbeing must be a priority when grade acceleration is presented as an option. 

• A Grade Acceleration Case Conference Form (Appendix A) must be completed and included in the Education Support Services Team minutes. The Grade Acceleration Case Conference Form and all supporting documentation must be forwarded to the Director of Educational Support Services and the Director of Curriculum and Instruction.