Scottsdale Unified School District No Dream Too Big . . . No Challenge Too Great

Parents, community members and the Governing Board heard Community Schools’ presentation on early entrance to kindergarten or first grade.

At the June 22 Governing Board meeting, the Board directed the administration to develop guidelines and an alternative to costly testing for early entrance to kindergarten or first grade. Several elementary school principals met to develop procedures for assessing and admitting students to kindergarten and first grade who do not meet the entrance age, including Dr. Chris Loots, Aztec; Darlene Johnson, Desert Canyon Elementary; Lesa Friend, Tonalea; Wendy Cohen, Yavapai; Dr. Steve Nance, Pima; Margaret Serna, Tavan; and Carolyn Repp, ANLC.

The early entrance procedures are as follows:

• Parents who wish to enroll their children early are referred to the Community Schools office
• Community Schools will schedule the time and location for centralized screening
• The assessment fee will be $40. Parents may apply to have the fee waived by qualifying for Free or Reduced Lunch status
• Assessment results will be forwarded to the school principal for review and consultation with the parent/guardian, teacher, child, etc.
• Decisions by the site team are final. There is no appeal process.

Kindergarten Criteria - early entrance will be granted if it is in the best interest of the child as determined by the following:

• Children must turn 5 years old on or before Dec. 31 of the current school year
• 25 percent minimum score on the SUSD Kindergarten checklist

First Grade Criteria - early entrance will be granted if it is in the best interest of the child as determined by the following:

• Children must turn 6 years old on or before Dec. 31 of the current school year
• Successful completion of a formal kindergarten experience (documentation required)
• 90 percent minimum score on the SUSD Kindergarten Checklist
• Applications after the first day of school must document that the student had been promoted to or enrolled in a public, parochial or charter first grade program (documentation required)

In other action, the Board:

• Approved the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the City of Phoenix for Resource Officers for the fiscal year 2004-2005.
  
  The City of Phoenix, through this IGA, shall provide qualified police officers to serve as School Resource Officers (SRO) at district middle and high schools. The district will provide office space and clerical support, establish a system for coordinating and scheduling the officer’s work within each complex and provide assistance in the development and implementation of teaching materials.
  
  The Police Department has calculated the district’s portion of the cost for each SRO for the 2004-2005 school year at $58,592, which includes $46,604 in salary and $11,988 in fringe benefits. This billing amount represents an increase of approximately 4.8 percent over last year.
   
• Accepted gifts valued at $100,670. The gifts were received from Ingleside Middle School’s Yearbook Club, Saguaro High School’s Letterman’s Club, Arcadia Pride, C.H.A.P.T.S., Cocopah APT, Desert Mountain PTO, Hohokam PTA, Kiva PTO, Pueblo PTO, American Heart Association, Michael and Jamie Askins, Coronado Foundation for the Future, Inc., General Mills, Karl Maerzluft, Salt River Project, Scottsdale Conference Resort, Scottsdale Education Foundation, Wal-Mart Foundation, Valley Systems and Wells Fargo Foundation

The next Governing Board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 7, at the Education Center.

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