Posted by Mrs. Nordenson
How are students screened and accepted at All Saints Catholic Academy? It’s an involved process that includes many people, many hours, and careful consideration. It is not a quick decision nor are children hand selected due to academic skills, talents, or social status. Simply put, we love children! That is what gets every one of us out of bed in the morning (be it slowly or with the aid of a few cups of Joe…). When there’s a chance that a new child could be entrusted to us, we are undoubtedly thrilled at the thought of growing our family (!) but as educators we need to ensure what is best for every youngster.
Once a family indicates an interest in attending All Saints Catholic Academy, one of the first steps in the acceptance process is to set up a visit in the classroom of the child’s current grade. This visit is scheduled at a time that is convenient for the child and their family, but also on a day that will be a good fit for the child to observe and participate in. We want to make sure the child gets to participate in a day that best reflects a typical day in our classroom. We do not want the new child to feel overwhelmed or confused by what might be happening in our environment.
On the day of the visit, students participate in the daily events, subjects, and routines of the classroom just as any other child in the classroom. Current students are always eager to have visitors and newcomers into the classroom and are ready to lend a helping hand or warm welcome. During this visit, students are also carefully screened by the classroom teacher. Not only do the interested students participate in the daily work of the classroom for that day, but teachers will also have the new student partake in a few assessments to help identify their academic skills in math and language arts. These assessments differ across grades but do reflect the academic skills being covered during that time of the year. The teacher also carefully observes interactions with other peers, willingness to participate in activities, and other social behaviors of the new student. All of this is carefully processed and observed.
After the child’s visit, a meeting is held between the teacher and the Head of School. Results of the child’s work and observations made are carefully discussed and thought about. School records, if available, are also looked at. Teachers also think about the impact the addition of a new student will have on the current class. How will this new student fit in with the current dynamics of the students in the class?
There are so many levels of consideration us teachers need to make before we say “Yes! We’d love to have this student in our class.” Truthfully, it is hard to turn away families and children, but sometimes our school is not a good fit for everyone. We want every student that enters through the All Saints Catholic Academy doors to be successful, caring, and achieve academic excellence. However, as teachers, we know that this may not be possible with each student. We are one teacher in a classroom of many students. Some of us have full classes of children with a wide range of academic abilities and personalities. There are no aides, specialists, or interventionists at All Saints Catholic Academy — the classroom teacher plays the role of all of those people. There is no team of special educators crafting and assessing individualized education plans or accommodations needed for students with special needs. Any accommodations needed by a child a teacher must make.
This plays a huge role in our decision making of accepting students; we want every one of our children to succeed and if we feel that we may not have the tools necessary for a new student who we are screening to be successful, we have to be honest and say, “This might not be the best fit for you.” This is something all of us teachers have a hard time saying, but we also know we have to be realistic. We know that if we accept a student that cannot thrive and be successful in our classroom, we are doing a disservice to that child.
This is not an easy process or decision nor is it taken lightly. It is not as simple as signing a paper and you’re in, nor is it as exclusive as teachers looking at tests and hand picking only the best. There is much careful consideration not only for the family involved and the current class, but most especially for the child that this decision will affect the most. It is our mission at All Saints Catholic Academy to help every child achieve academic excellence and we want to make sure we are fully able to do just that.
