Translating Teacher Cuts Into Class Sizes

During Monday night’s Board of Finance meeting, board member Mike Portnoy asked Superintendent of Schools Evan Pitkoff what would happen if 10.7 new teachers were not hired by the school district next year. How would a reduction in the number of teachers affect the size of classes?

The district guidelines for class sizes prescribe a maximum of 20 children in kindergarten through second grade; 25 in grades three through eight; and 25 to 30 at the high school.

Dr Pitkoff described the guidelines for class size at the various grade levels and then he gave examples taken from Head O’ Meadow and Sandy Hook Elementary Schools.

These are the figures used for planning, he said, but ultimately there are contractual obligations stating that class sizes must not exceed 30 children, K­­–12.

Of the 10.7 new teachers, seven are regular, full-time classroom teachers and the rest translate into added part-time teaching positions or increases in the hours allocated for a particular position.

There are four teachers in grade three at Head O’ Meadow. With three teachers, class size would change from 21.2 children to 26.5.

Sandy Hook is asking for additional teachers in first and second grades. In first grade the additional teacher would lower class sizes from the 22 to 23 range to the 18 to 19 range. The second grade teacher addition would allow class sizes to move from 22 or 23 to 19 or 20.

Head O’ Meadow is seeking another teacher for third grade allowing class sizes to move from 26 or 27 to 21 or 22.

If the two team teacher cluster budgeted from Reed Intermediate School were to be cut it would mean classes would go from 22 or 23, to 24 or 25.

In answer to the question by Board of Finance member Mike Portnoy about the importance of small classes at the primary level, Assistant Superintendent Alice Jackson spoke to the board in defense of keeping to the guidelines, setting the limit at 20 for elementary schools.

“We know that in order to throw some things into long-term memory, there is a need for children to use motor activity such as moving or speaking. We can’t use written materials,” at the primary level, she explained. “For this reason, a primary level teacher needs to talk or interact with each child frequently and class sizes must remain small.”

If the three teachers being requested at the high school in world language (one), math (one), science (.46), and English (.26) were cut, it would mean 30 classes would have 30 students. Once class sizes reached 30, students would be denied access to particular courses, Dr Pitkoff said. There are also 16 classes such as science and computer classes that only allow for 24 students because of equipment. The high school enrollment is expected to increase by 105 students.