January 2013 Shout Out Comments- Class Size I teach 2nd grade and meeting the needs of a large

e class size is near impossible! My 32 students range in reading from a DRA score of 2 (kindergarten) to 4th, 5th grade reading levels. I have about 1/3 of them at or above grade levels leaving 2/3 well below. I have 7 English Language Learners and 7 more with documented learning disabilities. The work load and energy required are daunting! This is my 13th year as a teacher. Gets harder and harder every year! Our kindergarten classes have between 30-35 students. Four sessions, two ESOC, two bilingual Spanish/English. There are so many students crammed in the classroom theres hardly any room to move around and they have to go to the bathroom in shifts because they arent enough stalls, room in the hallway or adults to manage them all at the same time.

This year kindergarten class sizes went up to 35 and we are nearing 40. With a change in bus routes it ended with 36, 24, 26, and 28. We struggle to serve kids not making grade level in intervention and a need for more chairs and desk space. We could really use another session for kindergarten. Im low at 24 students (2nd grade). Kindergarten is 32, 30, 25, and 26. 4th grade is in 30s.

Just had our science teacher tell me that he has 38 students in one class and smallest is 35. I am trying to work with small groups in reading, writing, and math. These groups are 6 students or less. During this time I am focusing my instruction to the specific levels of my students. While meeting with my groups I also keep/manage the rest of my class to work on practicing their skills. All of this with 1 adult, 26 kids and levels ranging from kindergarten to 2nd grade in a 1st grade class. At Roberts our classes are capped at 20 with 2 adults in the room (1 certified and 1 IA). Most classes are averaging 15 at the end of the semester. Our students have access to lots of 1-on-1 help which makes them feel very successful. Many of our students want to stay when their expulsions are up because they finally feel like there are adults who care about them and know them. We are an example of how small class size can make a difference!

Classrooms have as many as 36 students. We are experiencing a large number of disciplinary issues. I have 32 students in kindergarten lit squared. The room is small and I have circle tables that sit 4 each. My room is wall-to-wall tables, chairs, and bodies. There is no room to walk from one

side of the class to the other. There is almost no storage. I have to pay for a 10x10 storage unit to keep my teaching and personal materials in. As an ELAS, I go into a lot of classrooms. I am totally amazed at the large classroom size. With so many students, it is difficult to monitor and adjust teaching for those not keeping up. I have 33 students in a 4th/5th blend. There is not very much room to move in the room. Our 3rd5th class average is 32! We have over 33 students in both sessions of kindergarten. Since the beginning of the school year our school has added 70 students.

My classroom is designed for 30 kids. I have had as many as 45 in a period. I cant move around the room easily, we cant exit quietly. Students can copy and I cant move them. Two 4th grade classes: 33 and 34. Two 5th grade classes: 34 and 34.

A teacher has so many students with IEP accommodations to sit near instruction that she cant have them all in front. The room is so full that it is harder to get around. 28 cubbies for 31 kids, etc. It becomes difficult to separate kids. I have 31 kids 3rd and 4th graders. Not enough room for them on the carpet for read aloud. Small groups are supposed to be 4-6 kids. If I want to meet with groups for reading and math and see every student my groups are 7-10 kids. Way too many to get any good intervention time. My class size is 27. Id like to be able to spend more time during writing to help my students. Its hard to read student stories and spend the in depth time the need to improve on what good work they have done. During the reading block I would like to meet more often with my benchmark students. As it is, the students who are below benchmark are my focus. My benchmark students feel left out and have verbally told me so. Im working with more than 30 students (up to 34) in kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd. As a result, students cannot possibly receive the education they need and deserve. As an example, the majority this years 2nd graders (32 in each of 2 rooms) were reading at kindergarten level at the beginning of the year. Even now, mid-year more than half are still significantly behind. It is nearly impossible to do right by kids who really need extra help.

I have 35 5th graders. Other 5th grade teacher has 36 kids, 35 plus 1 mainstreamed EGC student. It is difficult to manage extreme ADHD/ADD behavior problems as there is nowhere to move students away from each other. Our PE classes now regularly exceed 50 students.

I teach in a self-contained special ed. classroom with relatively small numbers compared to other special ed. classes (8-10 kids). When my students move on to classes of 14, 15 or more kids all with unique needs, they often lose ground. It is impossible to meet those needs with more than 13 kids, few assistants and inadequate physical space. This year I have 5 students out of 29 in my room (but 12 total) with literacy group. Last year 15 students in my room out of 30 total. Each student takes at least 30 minutes complete paperwork meetings can range from 20 minutes-1 hour.