Ellwood City Area School Directors Pass Amended Kindergarten Admission Policy

The Ellwood City Area School Directors approved Policy 201 Admission of Students during the Thursday night voting meeting.

The policy was amended for early admission to kindergarten. The amended section regarding early admission to kindergarten now states:

Physical, social and emotional maturity must be adequate to function satisfactorily in the Ellwood City Area School District’s kindergarten program.

Criteria for early entrance includes the following:

1. The child must turn five years old by September 15 of the school year of enrollment.
2. The child seeking early entrance must have completed two years of preschool experience.
3. A written letter of request from the parent for early entrance into kindergarten must be received by the school psychologist by March 1 of the previous school year for which the parent is seeking entrance.
4. The district must receive a letter of recommendation from the child’s current and certified preschool teacher.

The district will inform the parent(s) if those criteria have been met or not in writing. If the criteria are not met, the child will be denied early entrance. If the criteria are met, the following guidelines must be followed:

1. An early entrance committee will consist of at least the school psychologist, elementary principal, and one kindergarten teacher. The committee may also include additional kindergarten teachers, school counselors, and speech-language pathologist as appropriate.
2. The committee will determine if approval for early entrance is appropriate. The decision made by the committee is final.
3. The elementary principal will inform the parent(s) of the committee’s final decision in writing within 30 days of submitting the report.

A child who has been enrolled in an approved kindergarten program in another school district may enter the elementary schools in the district, provided the parent(s)/guardian(s) are or become residents of this district and the child has satisfactorily completed an approved kindergarten program through the first semester as determined by the Ellwood City Area School District.

The Ellwood City Area School District is not obligated to fund a kindergarten program offered by a cyber charger school for a student who does not meet the minimum entry age requirement as set forth by the board of school directors.

The board also approved four additional policies:

• Policy #204 Attendance
• Policy #208 Withdrawal from School
• Policy #233 Suspension and Expulsion
• Policy #805.2 School Security Personnel

The following policies were approved to be on display until the next board meeting at which time they would be recommended for adoption:

• Policy #004 Membership
• Policy #705 Facilities and Workplace Safety
• Policy #707 Use of School Facilities
• Policy #709 Building Security
• Policy #805 Emergency Preparedness and Response
• Policy #805.1 Relations with Law Enforcement Agencies
• Policy #904 Attendance at School Events
• Policy #916 Volunteers

School policies can be found on the district’s website: Click here.