Families divided over split class

I was moved to write this letter following what I perceived to be largely negative reporting and commentary on the Willow Elementary School "split class" debate. One needn't look far to see that a split fourth-and fifth-grade class can not only work, but can be highly successful and motivational to those students chosen to participate.

Sumac Elementary School, also a Las Virgenes School District California Distinguished School, has operated with an enviable split fourth- and fifth-grade class for years. I am now and will always be grateful that my son was placed in this class.

At no time did my son feel inadequate, slighted or otherwise deprived. To the contrary, as a fourth grader, he felt honored to be learning side by side with the fifth graders. As a fifth grader, he embraced the perceived brotherly responsibility he associated with the incoming fourth graders.

Granted, it takes an amazing teacher to make it all work. Thankfully, Ms. Hilary Boss of Sumac is such a teacher. Certainly she may have had misgivings about the split. If she did, though, she effectively employed optimism, intelligence, patience, persistence and planning in never, ever making us parents or her students feel like they were getting anything less than the ultimate fourth- and fifth-grade experience.

Her dedication to the program and its success are reflected in the high number of her fifth graders that have gone onto successfully integrate into middle school life.

Monetary realities being what they are, I can only recommend that all involved embrace the very real opportunities that a wellplanned and run fourth and fifthgrade split class can provide. To my way of thinking, continued pessimism, though perhaps honest, will only create an unnecessary barrier toward the development of an environment in which children can grow and thrive. Cheri Eaton Pavone Agoura Hills