Some of you may not be aware that the current 3rd grade class at AP Terhune does not have enough children to maintain 4 classes in the fall for 4th grade. What this means to our children is more students to a classroom. Our children can be in classes of 25 or more per teacher. In light of the new, more difficult curriculum coming soon this could be detrimental to our children.

Numerous studies have been done to assess the impact of class size reduction. Although most studies do show a relationship between small class size and increased student achievement.

A.P. Terhune is a Title 1 school. For a school to qualify as a Title 1 school, 40 percent of its total enrollment must come from low-income families.

Per Research: Empirical findings indicate that class-size expansion may reduce gains for low-effort students more than for high-effort students, Results here…suggest …that larger gains for disadvantaged students may have occurred because small classes allow teachers to incentivize disengaged students more effectively, or because students are better able connect to the school setting in small classes. Babcock, P., & Betts, J.R. (2009). Reduced Class Distinctions: Effort, Ability, and The Education Production Function. Journal of Urban Economics, Vol. 65, pp. 314–322.

Thanks, -Committee for Smaller Class Size (CSCS)

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