Dear Parents and/or Guardians:

The Park Hill School District implemented a new K-5 reporting system for the 2003-04 school year.  A report card committee was formed during the 2002-03 school year with representatives from each grade level and each elementary school.  The mission of the committee was to research various reporting systems and determine the direction the Park Hill School District would use in reporting student learning to parents.  It is important to note that the last major revision to the report card was in the late 1980's.  Consequently, there have been changes in the district curriculum standards, the addition of the Missouri Show-Me Standards and the new state Grade Level Expectations that align with the federal legislation - No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB).

The report card committee believed our reporting system, used since the 1980's, no longer reflected a complete picture of a student's learning and academic progress.  Therefore, after researching many reporting systems, it was determined that Park Hill School District Elementary Report Cards would be:

Computerized
Standards-Based Reporting System
Grade Level Specific Report Cards
4-Point/Letter System except in Kindergarten who has a 3-point/letter system
Overall Performance (A, B, C, D & F) for 5th grade ONLY
Overall Effort included as a separate category in each content area
Implementation would occur district-wide for 03-04 school year

The committee believes that the new reporting system will benefit students, parents and teachers in many way.  The most noted benefits are:

Identifies essential outcomes or standards that are to be mastered or learned for each grade
       level in each content area

Gives students, parents and teachers accurate report of the progress a student is making
        in meeting or exceeding standards

Specific information in regards to the standards that are taught and learned each quarter

The reporting system can be revised as district or state standards are rewritten

As part of the implementation process, parent focus groups with representatives from each elementary school will meet to monitor the progress of the implementation and note possible changes to the report card for the 2004-2005 school year.

If you have any specific questions, please contact your child's teacher and/or principal.