Dear Parents,
The purpose of this letter is to better inform you of some of the assistance that is available in my classes. Because some students don’t take advantage of the opportunities they have or understand my efforts to help, I am asking for your support, if extra assistance becomes necessary for your sons or daughters success in chemistry.
I try to observe every student’s in class work individually to make sure they understand at the time they have been taught the material. Some students are not used to such close observation and take it as an invasion of their privacy. If this becomes a problem, I would appreciate your explanation of my purpose. If I am not providing enough one-on-one observation for your student, please inform me and I will be glad to adjust.
When students have missed a class I pair students with those missing and have them cover the class material missed. Sometimes students feel that, if they have missed a class, they are not expected to learn the material. That is not the case and, if the paired learning has not been complete, I want your student to come for extra help. Paired learning is also used for students not grasping the material or students will receive extra help from me by grouping those having trouble or individually after quizzes or at other opportunities. Sometimes students may feel separated out or embarrassed because of the extra attention. I would appreciate your support and understanding, if this extra help becomes necessary.
Students are always asked to come in for extra help at any time before or after school or at noon. Often, students that need the help the most will not take advantage of this. If you see problems developing, please help me to get your student to come in for extra help as soon as possible.
Students are allowed to take their tests over, if they get a grade below an 80 %. This is normally allowed within two weeks after the test and on the student’s own time outside of class. The student can potentially raise their grade to an 80 %, if their original grade indicated a substantial understanding and they can display an outstanding understanding on their retake. If this is not the case, the student can retake their test and raise their grade to an average of their original grade and final grade. I do this to help reach mastery of the material. This is especially important in chemistry because one topic builds on the next. Your help in getting your student to make their test up as soon as possible will help their learning and improve their chance at success.
If there is ever a time that your son or daughter feels they are not getting the help they need in class or outside of class, please let me know so we can make the proper classroom adjustments or student behavior modifications.
Your cooperation and understanding is appreciated and with the three of us working together I am looking forward to a successful year.
Sincerely,
Larry Rasmussen