WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, HEREBY PETITION THE MEMBERS OF THE BALL CHATHAM SCHOOL BOARD TO:

·        REINSTATE THE ADVANCED MATH (AMP) AND ADVANCED LANGUAGE ARTS (ALP) PROGRAMS FOR STUDENTS IN THE 4TH AND 5TH GRADE, AND;

·         REVIEW AND IMPROVE THE PRACTICES CURRENTLY IN PLACE TO IDENTIFY AND AID IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED STUDENTS IN GRADES K-6

 As parents of students in the Ball Chatham Schools, we believe that the AMP and ALP programs are vital to the continued academic development and success of advanced students in the 4th and 5th grades.  We understand that other curriculum changes may provide additional enrichment opportunities for these students.  However, until these new programs (Differentiated Instruction and WIN) are proven more effective for accelerated learners in the Ball-Chatham District, we respectfully request that the highly successful AMP/ALP programs be reinstated.

 We appreciate the efforts of the district to elevate the achievement of the entire student population through Differentiated Instruction (DI), and to enrich the academic curriculum through the innovative “What I Need” (WIN) program.  Furthermore, we applaud the district administration for their commitment to ensuring that all district educators are appropriately trained in advanced teaching techniques.  However, we firmly believe that these initiatives should complement rather than replace the current AMP and ALP programs for advanced students.  It is our hope that DI and WIN will lead to greater student involvement in the AMP/ALP programs in the future.   

Since resource constraints were not a consideration in terminating the successful AMP and ALP programs, we believe that the expansion of the school district, along with its continued commitment to encouraging all students to achieve excellence, provides a perfect opportunity to allow for a much needed expansion, rather than dissolution, of these programs.

Additional information supporting our position, including research, data, and personal testimonials, can be found at our website:

 https://sites.google.com/site/bcsdconcernedparents/

We thank the Ball-Chatham School Board and District Administrators for agreeing to reopen and examine this issue more thoroughly. 

The signers of this petition hereby appeal to the members of the board to reverse the decision to cancel the AMP/ALP program and request that AMP/ALP be reinstated for both 4th and 5th grade students.