Happy Friday Park Hill Families!
I wanted to share an update on our Enrollment and Staffing for next year. As we have shared throughout the year, we have seen our school enrollment increase from our historical trends. There seem to be a mix of different factors contributing to this from new housing being added in the neighborhood, families continuing to move to the Park Hill community due to its family-friendly reputation, and potentially just a high amount of births in a few given years. Our teachers have been amazing with accommodating our students, but we feel strongly that student achievement correlates with smaller class sizes and would like to get back to our normal levels of classes in the mid-to-high 20’s and not 30’s.
If our current trend holds, we are planning to hire an additional teacher for next year’s first and third grade classrooms. This means we are planning to move from four to five classrooms in first and third grade, thus bringing down the class size at those grade levels. We have been working actively with the district to discuss these changes and make sure we have long-term funding to maintain them. We are interviewing teacher candidates at this time. Our incoming kindergarten class size, so far, is on track with our traditional sizes, so we are not projecting a fifth classroom in that grade. We are following all grades closely though as School Choice numbers come in, and I will continue to communicate any other changes. If you know you will not be returning to Park Hill next year, we do ask that you let us know here as soon as you can.
I am eagerly looking forward to the school auction next Friday, March 14. This is a great opportunity to connect with our school community and potentially help support our school. Please remember to register in advance. See you then!
-Ken Burdette, Principal
Time Change - March 9th
A reminder that this Sunday, March 9, clocks will need to be set one hour ahead.
Save the Date: Park Hill Culture Night
Park Hill's Black Excellence Committee will be hosting a Culture Night on April 17th from 5:30-7:00pm. Come share your family’s history with our community and have an opportunity to learn more about the unique and diverse community at Park Hill Elementary. Share delicious food and enjoy some amazing performances from Park Hill students and families.
Save the Date: YMCA Sign-up dates for 2025/26 school year
Per the YMCA, before and after school sign ups for the 2025-26 school year will open on Monday, April 21 for currently enrolled Y families and Monday, April 28 for the General Public.
Save the date: End of the year events
ECE last day & party - Monday, June 2nd
Kindergarten graduation - Monday, June 2nd
5th Grade continuation - Friday, May 30th
Reminder: Second Trimester Grades Available
Second term grades are now available for your children. These can be viewed in the Campus Parent app or through the Parent Portal link. Questions about specific grades should be directed to the appropriate teacher. If you need your child’s student ID number (it is the same as their Chromebook logins so many students have them memorized) you can contact the front office.
Reminder: ELCS Summer Camp
The ELCS department is offering summer enrichments at Polaris Elementary.
Reminder: Lost and Found to be donated on Thursday, March 20
Lost and Found items are piling up and we will make our next donation on Thursday, March 20. Please take a moment to look through the piles if you are at the school and encourage your students to do the same.
