New Elementary Borders

FROM ROSS NUNAMAKER

The Express-Times reports that two years after pulling 4th and 5th grades from our elementary schools, the NASD is looking at redistricting in order to balance the average K class size across the three elementary schools.

I find it hard to believe that we’ve maxed out the schools in terms of enrollment. It would appear, however, that an NASD decision has caused this problem.

When we had a traditional half day K, we had one teacher handling two classes or approximately 40 students, but now we’ve gone to full day K despite the lack of evidence that it provides any additional educational benefit (and in one RAND study demonstrates the opposite), and one teacher now handles between 18 and 25 students. We’ve had to double the number of K teachers to accommodate this change.

For K, I do believe a smaller classroom size (up to 22) is appropriate, but it should be consistent across the three schools. As students get older, the classroom size issue becomes less important.

If we create swing regions where students can be moved based on class size, it would seem we’ll be sending kids from grade to grade to different buildings at a time when they need consistency.

Maybe we ought to go back to half day K, and leverage those savings at a time we are in a budget crisis instead of changing district lines.

Posted via email from Ross Nunamaker

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