Hopkins School District #270

08/28/2009

Question

I have an age old question. Why are class sizes so big? Research shows us again and again that children do best with smaller class sizes, especially in our schools that are not making adequate yearly progress. Some of our children face language barriers, family issues and socio-economic issues—these children need and deserve more attention.

Answer 

Balancing class sizes, enrollments, and finances are necessary within  a fiscally challenging environment. Each year, the Hopkins School Board and the administration evaluate the present budget allocation from state and federal resources to determine the available resource for classroom staffing. The staffing is then placed into grade-level ratios. Those ratios are used to guide classroom staffing. The present ratio is that new classrooms are opened when class sizes in grades K-3 are more than 30 students in a class. Our primary grade classroom teachers and administrators have worked wtihin this staffing range for more than 15 years. In grades 4-6 we try to adhere to the same ratio, but with budget reductions last year, the ratio rose to 31 students. However, at this time, we do not anticipate any classrooms of this class size.

There is mixed research on class size reductions and the student learning benefits. Certainly, our goal is to keep class sizes as low as possible and stay within the allocated financial resources. We do our very best to allocate classroom teachers to our students in a way that can support student learning. During this time of year, class sizes do fluctuate, as we work to account for students who have moved into our area or away over the summer.
 
When class sizes do rise to levels close to the ratio cap, principals and district administrators review any additional actions that can be taken to see what support services may be changed. We have designed a new support model to help students who need academic support and interventions.
 
Again, budget parameters are reviewed on an annual basis, and the caps are reviewed annually. Changes in staffing at one educational level also have impacts on the other levels, as resources are finite. Balancing these impacts are one of a set of factors that also are considered in the overall staffing consideration.
 
There are, unfortunately, no easy answers as creating a new cap in one area means substantial changes in others. This is, importantly, a question that continues to be in the minds of principals and administrators as they look at the overall resources available and the programs provided.