Mr. Arredondo's 4th Grade Class

I’ve been fielding a number of questions now from people about whether or not I’ll be returning to Hampstead Central School next year. I didn’t want to address this online but, now that the number of people asking me as increased with each passing day, I thought I’d provide a short statement on what’s going on. Here it is…

As most of you know, I was brought on for one year to cover a teacher on maternity leave. Though this teacher most likely may not be returning, the enrollment estimates for next year show that we won’t need 6 fourth grade classes next year. I truly sympathize with the administration, who are now in a tough position. My status for next year is still undecided, but the decision could be made as early as 2 weeks from now. If anyone wants to voice their opinions on their experience with any of us on the fourth grade staff, this would be the time to do it. Once the decision has been made, I’m sure the school will communicate what changes are in place for next year as we approach June.

Please be reassured that all of the people here have your child’s best interest in mind and their heart in the right place. A quality education is something we are all still pushing for. My class in particular has been wonderful and together we have accomplished so much. When the decision does comes down, no matter what it is, my dedication to your students will not falter. We’ll keep forward because there’s still 3 months to go and we’ve still got so much more to do.

Sincerely,
Lorenzo Arredondo

Update March 11, 2011: HCS has made a decision about which teachers are returning for next year. There are only 4 classroom teachers needed in 4th grade next year and, though the administration wanted to retain all staff, some cuts had to be made. The administration made their decision and is now notifying teachers of their status.

I do want to take this time to thank all parents who have shared their kind comments all year with me and took the time to share their experiences with the administration. At this point, I’d like to ask any and all parents to drop any additional feedback you were going to share, as the decision has been made.

I don’t expect to post my status here, or share it, until the year begins to draw to a close, as we still have a very important job to do: keep pushing the bar and expecting the best from our fourth graders.

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