Class size is number one

Budget Blog

4/30/2009

I've spent time this week going through the budget survey results and the budget input forms. (Check the Web site tomorrow or Monday for the full results.) But I did want to write today about the number one clear message our community sent and that is: class size is most important, especially at the elementary level.

In the original budget survey, the items for elementary class size were the top three ranked items (grades kindergarten and one, two and three, and grades four through six were separated into three different items). Junior high and high school class size fell a little farther down on the list but still in the top ten. In the community input process, 90 percent of those who took part wanted to save kindergarten and first grade class size and 84 percent wanted to save class size in grades two through four. Those two items got more agreement than any others on the list.

On the alternative cut side of things, some folks were willing to make some cuts in class sizes for grades five and six, seven through nine or ten through twelve if that would help pay for smaller classes in the early grades. Only somewhere between twenty and thirty percent were willing to make that trade.

What that tells me is that our community values learning, especially when it comes to direct attention from a teacher.That's good news for our students and for our teachers.

Posted at 5:33 PM by Reith, Kathryn | Category: Class size | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (1)

Comments

Re: Class size is number one

I am glad that class-size is a priority for the people in this community. Class size has a huge impact on the quality of learning for our kids. I hope that everyone realizes that if class sizes increases we cannot expect the same level of performance from teachers. If a secondary English teacher has more students, then that is more papers to grade (that s/he is not compensated for) and so it is realistic to assume that this teacher will not assign as much writing. If a science teacher has a huge class, then s/he should be cautious about what labs are offered. The list goes on. We cannot expect our teachers to make-up for the shortfalls in the budget. I hope the district will not expec them to do so.

at 5/1/2009 9:09 AM

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