Confusion about Hollister School District’s increase in
kindergarten class sizes during a portion of the day has prompted
administrators to fully explain the changes and answers questions
about the new program.
Confusion about Hollister School District’s increase in kindergarten class sizes during a portion of the day has prompted administrators to fully explain the changes and answers questions about the new program.
The HSD Board of Trustees voted to increase class sizes on May 26, but it wasn’t included in the meeting’s agenda, leaving many parents and teachers concerned about what exactly the changes entail.
“Because it was brought to the table that night, I wasn’t really sure what exactly was going to happen,” parent Rachael Murray said.
The new kindergarten program allows the classroom size to fluctuate throughout the day. Currently, each kindergarten teacher has 20 students for the entire classtime, but starting this fall the new planned schedule will include:
– Two hours of reading and math with 16 students and one teacher,
– 89 minutes of social studies, science, fine arts and physical education with 32 students, one teacher and one aide.
Parent Monica Flores-Okerson called the increases “insane.”
“I help out in the classroom, and I see them struggle with just 20,” she said.
The instructional change will save the district $318,000, which administrators said was a significant piece of the puzzle in solving the district’s $2 million debt.
Superintendent Judith Barranti said anytime there is change it affects the classroom, but the new plan will lower the class-size ratio. And when there are more students, they’ll have the help of an aide, she said.
“People can make things into a good situation,” she said. “The way this is drafted it allows 16 students to one adult throughout the day which is better than now.”
HSD Board President Dee Brown said the overall lower number of students per teacher benefit everyone in the long run.
“The smaller number of children creates the best opportunity for instructional learning situations,” she said.
Although the students will be in a group of 32 for only 89 minutes, parent Janet Sanchez is concerned about how teachers will manage the classroom.
“I volunteer in a class of 19, and the teacher is already stretched,” she said. “I just can’t imagine 10 more of them in there.”
Another concern for teachers is testing requirements. As achievement standards continue to go up, the curriculum of kindergarten resembles that of first-grade a few years back, and kindergarten teacher Brandi Waxler said it’s hard enough to teach to the standards with only 20 kids.
“Back then the children were taught letters and numbers, and now they’re expected to learn reading and writing,” she said. “There is no way you could possibly meet the standards today with this many kids. You can’t do the small group work with that many and it’s unfair to the kids.”
Parent Mary Chase agrees.
“They’re expected to leave kindergarten reading and writing sentences and with 32 kids in a classroom that will be hard to accomplish,” she said.
Testing of reading and math begins in the second grade, and Barranti said the students will still have the individual attention necessary for these subjects.
When studying math and reading, the class size will be 16, which is four students less than it is now. Brown said once people realize how the schedule works they will have a better understanding of why the district made its decision.
“We’re trying to stay within the spirit of class-size reduction,” she said.
HSD isn’t alone in making the cuts, said Lynn Piccoli, the kindergarten through third-grade class-size reduction manager for the California Department of Education
“It’s happening all over the state,” she said. “We saw a big increase this year and from the phone calls I’ve been getting it’s probably going to continue throughout next year.”
