Schools

Are 30 Students Too Many in a 2nd Grade Class?

Higher enrollment and teacher swaps increase class size at Parliament Place Elementary.

Are 30 students too many for a second grade class?

Parents at Parliament Place Elementary School in North Babylon learned this month that second grade students will have two teachers, instead of the three originally expected. The change will increase class sizes in the grade from 20 students, to the district maximum of 30.

Superintendent Patricia Godek said that a high influx of incoming Kindergarten-aged students to the  caused the North Babylon School District and its Board of Education to move its teachers around, resulting in the loss of  at .

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The change has stirred apprehension among parents who worry that the larger class sizes will make it harder for teachers and their students to succeed during the upcoming school year, which starts Tuesday, Sept. 4.

"30 is a high number to have of 7-year-olds in the classroom," said Laura Barnes, who started a petition to re-instate a third teacher for the second-grade class. "We're talking about a bunch of children with some behavioral problems and medical issues. Parents are obviously highly concerned."

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According to the New York State Education Department, the North Babylon School District averaged just under 24 students per second grade classroom in the 2011-2012 school year. Suffolk County averaged just over 22 students per room and the regional average was around 21.5.

The superintendent said that had the change not been made, the Kindergarten classes at DeLuca would be over their maximum capacity and some students would have been forced to attend another elementary school in the district, further from their homes.

"We're trying to build equity among our schools," she said.

The move leaves Parliament Place with two second grade classes of 30 children each, tied for the highest and maximum allowed.  has second grade classes of between 29 and 30, while DeLuca, Belmont and Vedder have between 25 and 27.

What do you think? How big is too big for elementary school classes? Share yoru thoughts in the comments section below.

 

 


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