This is a petition in support of hiring additional teaching staff to reduce kindergarten class size at Munson Elementary in Chardon, Ohio. The kindergarten class at Munson Elementary is currently averaging 28 students between two classes. The school is meeting its contractual requirements by having a classroom aide assist the kindergarten teacher for 10 hours per week. Allowing for 28 students in a kindergarten class is putting these children at a considerable disadvantage. The disparity of abilities among beginning kindergarten students is dramatic. These children, for the first time, are spending a full day in a structured learning environment, while their learning behaviors and social skills are just beginning to develop. Five-year old students require focused attention from the teacher. Their learning needs cannot be met in a class of 28 children. A consensus of research indicates that class size reduction in the early grades leads to higher student achievement, with the most significant effects occurring where class sizes range from 15 to 20 students. The disadvantages of an oversized classroom are many: - A chaotic classroom atmosphere characterized by noise, distraction and disruption. - Inability of the teacher to engage individual students and keep them focused on classroom learning activities. (This issue is amplified in lower grades where attention spans are short.) - Fewer and lower-quality teacher interactions with individual students. - Decreased flexibility for teachers to use different instructional approaches. - Inability of the teacher to meet the needs of students with special needs. - Inability of the teacher to provide extra challenges to those students above the curve. - Less time for individual students to speak and share ideas. - Decreased access per student to educational resources. - Less opportunity to improve education outside the classroom as teachers have less time to communicate and work with each student's parents. Add these downsides to the fact that the Munson Elementary kindergarten is only part-time and these students have less than twenty hours per week to learn. These students do not have the learning environment to properly prepare them for first grade at the level of excellence the Chardon school system proudly stands behind. There is space currently available at Munson Elementary school and adding an additional part-time teacher is clearly the best solution for the students. Transferring students to other schools within the district would force these first year students to adjust to, yet another, new environment and it does not provide the stability and continuity required to support their development. Logistical challenges for families with children already attending Munson Elementary would put an additional burden on already overloaded families. This issue can and should be fixed within the Munson Elementary School. Adding an additional part-time kindergarten teacher is a proactive solution with a relatively small financial impact when compared to the positive and long lasting impact for 56 Munson students. The current situation will result in a lower quality education and may actually increase the taxpayer's expense as there is a higher potential for students to fall behind or get held back, increasing the need for remedial teaching efforts. The Chardon School system is proud of its Excellent rating on the annual School Report Card. This is a distinction that we all, as parents and property owners, want to see maintained. We are open to alternative solutions to the overcrowding of the kindergarten class at Munson Elementary School, however the status quo is not acceptable. I urge you to sign this petition and join our efforts to advocate the hiring of additional teaching staff to reduce Munson Elementary kindergarten class size. Quentin and Michelle Fisher Concerned parents of a Munson Kindergartener

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