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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Jeffrey Gillespie: Dems contemplate Biden time ... Our View: Taking the plunge ... The Democracy Project at SOU: An Opportunity for Learning and Leadership ... Jeffrey Gillespie: Dems contemplate Biden time ... Our View: Taking the plunge ... The Democracy Project at SOU: An Opportunity for Learning and Leadership ... OUR VIEW Our view: Ashland tackles school attendance areas the right way Comment DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Mar. 7, 2015 at 12:01 AM Posted Mar. 7, 2015 at 12:01 AM » RELATED CONTENT • Ashland schools put new policy to the test » Social News Ashland school administrators are touching the third rail of public education — school attendance areas — and they're doing it willingly. Fortunately, it also appears they're doing it correctly by involving parents up front and laying out a logical decision-making process. Faced with the issue of balancing class sizes and balancing student populations at three elementary schools, the district has a fairly straight-forward plan for determining where incoming students will attend. Students who live in a school zone get first preference, as they should, followed by in-district students who do not live in the school zone and, finally, students from outside the district requesting an inter-district transfer. In each of those cases, having a sibling already at the school improves the chances of placement in their school of choice. The process is all the better because Ashland parents had a role in developing it by making their preferences known at a January town hall meeting. Parents are also consulted during parent-teacher conferences, asked their preferences and given the guidelines so they know where they stand in the process. This is all made necessary, of course, by the facts of life: School populations don't always work out to neat classroom sizes. In Ashland, the projected number of students in any single grade at an individual school ranges from 60 to 32. With elementary class sizes generally in the mid-20s, that leaves too many or too few kids per classroom. Fixing that is not easy, but it helps that a well-thought-out plan is in place. DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Mar. 7, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. DailyTidings.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501