SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Schools to Try Out New Report Cards

Parents of elementary school pupils in the Capistrano Unified School District will be getting a different report on their children’s progress in coming weeks.

School officials say the cards will give parents a more detailed analysis. The card was approved by district trustees Monday as part of a pilot program to be tested at seven elementary schools through the next semester.

“Using an instrument that allows me to give parents a clear indication of their child’s progress really excites me,” said Marilyn Montgomery, a second-grade teacher at Crown Valley Elementary School, who worked on the committee.

She said the new card, which was devised by a committee of teachers, administrators and parents, will describe students with regard to “where they’ve been, where they are, and where they’re going.”

The card will be used by teachers on a voluntary basis at Harold Ambuehl, Marian Bergeson, Crown Valley, Moulton, Palisades, Ole Hanson and Philip J. Reilly elementary schools.

One type of card will be used for evaluating students in kindergarten through second grade. Another will be used for grades three through six.

Under the proposal, the new cards would be sent home in trimesters instead of quarterly, as is done now.

The plan also calls for a parent-teacher planning conference in the first few weeks of the school year. The first report card would be issued at a second parent-teacher meeting after the first trimester. In the succeeding evaluation periods, the cards would be sent home with comments from teachers.

The cards are designed so that parents are able to compare their children’s progress from previous periods to the current one.

“As a parent, I wish I would have gotten this kind of information,” said Trustee Crystal Kochendorfer.

Some trustees, including Kochendorfer, suggested the report be sent out on a quarterly basis.

Trustee Annette B. Gude disagreed.

“This is so comprehensive, you don’t need to have it four times a year.”