By Ginni Spencer
At the May 6 meeting of the School Committee, Henry Turner and Kate Boynton, Bedford High School principal and assistant principal respectively, made a brief presentation of proposed changes and updates to the student handbook. The handbook includes information on such topics as school policies and procedures, code of conduct and updates to the annual calendar of school events. It is reviewed annually in the spring for the following school year (2014-2015) and recommended changes are presented to the School Committee for discussion and approval.
A significant change presently under discussion – and not yet finally approved – is the routine reporting of the class rank of each student as part of the college application process. In response to questions raised by some parents, Turner is working with a group of parents, teachers and guidance counselors to explore whether or not this practice is useful to both students and college admissions staff going forward. Since the group is not yet ready to make a final recommendation on best practice to the School Committee, Turner asked that the matter be placed “on hold” for the next year. During this period, students and their parents may choose whether or not they wish to have class rank reported. When the next annual update of the student handbook takes place in the spring of 2015, a final recommendation will be made to the School Committee.
The School Committee voted unanimously to accept the proposed changes to the handbook, and to reconsider the question of what will be the standard practice for class rank reporting next year.
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