Are Sheckler Elementary fourth-grade students prepared, both academically and psychologically, for attending Catasauqua Middle School?

Kim Jarrah, a Catasauqua resident and mother of a CMS student, shared her concerns with the Catasauqua School Board at the worshop meeting Tuesday. She described the difficulties her daughter has encountered due to transition from Sheckler to the middle school, which includes students in fifth through eighth grades.

Armed with research she compiled prior to the meeting, Jarrah told board members her daughter, who performed exceptionally well last fall as an elementary school student, has to date struggled academically at CMS. She said she and her husband have spent a great deal of time during the first month of school attempting to help her daughter improve academically.

They became alarmed when they checked her progress using the district's PowerSchool online system.

"I did not know how bad my daughter was doing with her grades with this transition," she said.

Jarrah said the change from having one teacher at the elementary school to multiple teachers at the middle school, exposure to older students, a different start time for school and her daughter's younger age have all contributed to a lower academic performance.

She specifically pointed to the CMS grading system, which uses an honor roll grading system. For instance, an A is 93-100; B, 85-92; C, 77-84; D, 70-76; and an F is anything below 70.

"I have never seen an honor grading system like this in public school," Jarrah said. "We [parents] were never told about this honors system."

School board member Carol McCarthy recommended Jarrah consult with CMS guidance counselor Amy Dymond-Jones to develop an academic plan of study for her daughter.

"I have great faith in her," McCarthy said.

Jarrah suggested the district explore alternative solutions to helping fifth-grade students adjust to the middle school.

"Let's incorporate little, subtle changes before we throw them in," she said.

Jarrah also inquired why fifth-grade students enter CMS rather than remaining at Sheckler, like a number of districts in the Lehigh Valley.

District Superintendent Robert Spengler said a few years ago the district considered using classrooms at the old Lincoln Middle School building and adding onto Sheckler for fifth-grade classes, but costs prohibited such action. He added lack of space is a reason why the Sheckler building currently cannot accommodate another grade level.

Spengler told Jarrah the school board and administration will investigate the grading system at CMS. In particular, Spengler said the district will be formulating a needs-based assessment survey that will be distributed to parents and teachers in the near future. If there is a significant interest or concern regarding a particular issue, the board will explore an issue further, he said.

"It's a process," said Spengler. "It's not something we do quickly, but we do it quick enough."

"We have to make sure the changes benefit the majority, not the minority," commented school board President Penny Hahn.