Cape Elizabeth Middle School should stop making the honor roll public – that was the consensus at a meeting of about 17 Cape Elizabeth Middle School parents Monday evening, according to Middle School Principal Nancy Hutton.

The pressure students are under and the fact that grades should be a private family matter and not one for the public to scrutinize were major concerns of those who attended the meeting.

“When I was growing up (grades) were an issue in the family and not in the community,” said Middle School Parents Association Co-President Catie Fairbanks-Cliffe.

Currently, at the middle school students move from check-plus grades in fourth grade to letter grades in fifth grade, which causes a large amount of pressure on students, Fairbanks-Cliffe said.

“That’s a big jump,” said Fairbanks-Cliffe, and the pressure is even greater since the results of their efforts are published in the local newspapers in the form of honor rolls.

“All kids are different and grow on their own time,” Fairbanks-Cliffe said. Students should be recognized for their efforts, but a system of honoring students at every level of learning should be fostered, she said.

Hutton said the honor roll is causing anxiety “in a negative way,” and the focus should be on fostering a love of learning, taking risks and being a life-long learner.

Parents would still know if their children were on the honor roll or not, because it will be on individual student’s report cards, Hutton said. “It’s not about not having an honor roll, but it won’t be made public.”

Hutton said the recommendation of the parents would be presented to teachers at a staff meeting Thursday and she would collect their feedback.

Since the new policy would go into effect next year, Hutton said she would share the parents’ concerns, teacher feedback and her personal recommendation to stop publishing the honor roll with incoming Middle School Principal Steven Connolly and they would probably make a decision together.