that is strange that it is supposed to be for another set of grades... I know when my past schools did looping, since I taught K, we always told our parents that it was an option for the upcoming years and just so they were aware but we never sent out a notice a full year ahead - I would call and check.
Opinions on looping - as a ex-teacher and hearing other teachers discuss it - there are ups and downs to it - the good things: The teacher gets 2 years with the children, so that means a continuous flow into the next year - usually it takes well over a month or 2 just to establish all the classroom rules/junk at the beginning of each school year - since the kids were all together the year before and it's the same teacher - then there is no time wasted having to go through that whole breaking in process. The teacher really gets to know the ins and outs of each individual child because they are together for so long and it allows a good partnership to grow. Kids all know each other and it allows for a much more easy flowing classroom the second year together- everyone knows each other and the routine.
The downside - if you have a crummy teacher - then one bad year will become 2 bad years. If there are any children in the class that are common issues/problems - if a child has really bad issues with a classmate(s) then they are stuck together again for another year. It is also tougher on the teacher because they have to learn double (2 different grade levels of materials) the curriculum than a normal non-looping teacher. All of the teachers I have known over the past years of teaching have been very much for it and have enjoyed it.
