My son has been in split classes for the last 2 years. We also lost a division and a teacher on Friday after the first week of school. This year I believe we will have more split classes than ones with just a single grade.
M
Motria Koropecky
9 years ago
A grandmother, retired teacher, who is concerned with the education of her grandson
T
Tanja Phillips
9 years ago
Featured
A change like this after school classes have been set and teacher's workplans and classrooms have been set are extremely disruptive and stressful for everyone involved. Splitting a peer group four ways is not conducive to strong peer bonds and having those strong friendships going into highschool.
C
Cynthia Springate
9 years ago
30 students in split classes is too many.
C
Coleman valadez
9 years ago
It is
J
Jaci Templeton
9 years ago
Stop spreading teachers so thin. Our kids need more support. Enough is enough
L
Leah Thompson
9 years ago
Keep what the kids were already introduced to!
L
Lori and Neil Allwood
9 years ago
According to reports in Feb 2016, the average class size for students in BC is 25. So, it is with significant disappointment we realized the District upended Laronde school on Friday, in what clearly had be a decision primarily driven by cost savings without consideration for the emotional wellbeing and educational outcomes of children, to create classes of 29 and 30; whereas these classes would have averaged 25 prior to that decision. According to our child, they were in a class of 26.
Further, for a school where the population and relative numbers of children per class is known with fair certainty at the end of the prior school year; this decision on the part of the District could have and should have been made in May or June, not in September at the 13th hour when students had been assigned, teachers hired and moved, and students settled. What lesson are we giving children about those with control and responsibility given the lack of forethought being presented here? School should be a place our children can count on as safe and stable. Stability was certainly not what our children experienced on Friday. There was anxiety aplenty as these children left school on Friday. All weekend we wait as families to determine, for a second time, where our children will wind up. This is the second time our child has been moved at the start of a school year with a lack of forethought to the impact. Most adults struggle with change, but somehow children should deal with it without consequence?
While we are not necessarily opposed to split classes, to have almost all the children in grades 5, 6 and 7 in splits seems just a bit absurd.
We are certain our school administration has done their utmost to work with a decision presented to them by the District with no notice. It is somewhat laughable that they should have to rejig 7 classes and present them for class pictures on Monday! We were impressed to witness the level of dedication and professionalism demonstrated
C
Clarissa Priske
9 years ago
My son struggles with anxiety and after a successful first few days at school things were going well. He got the teacher he wanted, there would finally be no grade 7 split classes but rather two full grade 7 classes. He had gotten his two only friends in his class (he struggles to make friends), he made a name tag for his desk, and started getting used to his new teacher's routine. On Friday they were told to pack everything up from their desks as teachers were changing and classes were changing. There was no consideration for the students or families involved. The grade sevens are now been split up, the grade sixes are being split into not two but four different classes and the effects continue all the way to grade 4 students. Needless to say my son is devastated! He came home crying, filled with anxiety about what Monday will hold and has been on edge all weekend, tearful whenever school is mentioned. This weekend we were going to celebrate a successful beginning to the school year, but now my son has suffered with severe anxiety all weekend waiting to see what will happen on Monday. He doesn't know who his classmates will be, who his teacher will be or if his friends will be with him. Just another example how the lack of funding is letting students down. Had this been planned from the beginning of the year it would have made a huge difference to students, but introducing them into a classroom, to a teacher, a routine, and what they thought would be consistent for the rest of the year and then simply just taking all that away is disrespectful.
Not only are we getting bigger class sizes, but the amount of anxiety that this has caused my son really helps shine light on how everyone is overlooking how budget decisions impacts the students.
B
Brent Mersereau
9 years ago
I am appalled at this change. We have just moved from Alberta to beautiful BC. Class size in any of the classrooms our children have attended as never been higher that 25 children.
A
Anastasia Stoubos
· petition starter
9 years ago
Yes our children matter immensely! For this reason, we are their voices here to fight for them!
D
Diane Eyre
9 years ago
I am sure that this decision was driven by financial concerns the district has. However, waiting until Friday afternoon to do so was extremely unfair because it left everyone up in the air over the weekend. Parents would have responded immediately to these events if the news had been given on Wednesday or Thursday. Because the decision was announced on Friday, it left everyone in limbo over the weekend which was not a fair way to go about letting the school community know. Teachers are in the unenviable position of having to learn and prepare new curriculum for the new grades they are teaching, in far too short a time frame. All in all, the timing of this decision was very poor. The district must have known on Tuesday, or at the latest, Wednesday that the numbers for the classes weren't what they wanted to see.
A
Anastasia Stoubos
· petition starter
9 years ago
Well said!!!!
S
Stephanie Caruso
9 years ago
My husband and I have 4 children at Laronde Elementary in gr 7, gr 5, gr 4 and gr 2. When I picked up my kids from school on Friday I was completely blindsided to find out that 3 out of 4 of my children were being disrupted and/or dispersed. Those odds are both disappointing and disgraceful! As I checked in on my older two children I was stunned to see my gr 7 and my gr 5 with upset and confusion in their eyes as they were packing up their already unpacked and organized desks of school supplies into large plastic bags to await being herded around like cattle! And when I approached my youngest baby's gr 2 class I was further struck with the aftershock that she was forced to say goodbye to her new teacher that she had just become settle with and that she had no understanding of the reason why! Absolutely schocking! In total, 7 divisions, 7 teachers and more than 150 students were visibly affected by this after-the-fact back-door decision that none of the dozens and dozens of families involved were given any warning. That's over 1/3 of the schools population! When the current gr 7's were heading into gr 6 the district attempted to organize the divisions in this exact disorganization with gr 6 being split 4 ways and class sizes upwards of 30 kids each. This would result in very stressful and challenging teaching conditions where each student could not possibly receive the level of education that they require and deserve. Additionally, having extremely small grade level peer groups in each class could dramatically affect the students socially, especially the graduating class, where a small percentage would be removed from the daily activities of their peers. Not a positive position to be in heading into their high school years! The families of Laronde were strongly opposed and made it very clear that this type of split class dispersement was intolerable and as a result the proposal was overturned. It was not acceptable then and it is not acceptable now! The
T
Troy
9 years ago
Featured
Average class size in BC grade 4-7 is 25.9 students per class. With these changes there will be 30 in the new classes with new/substitute teachers teaching two curriculums. This is not winning. This is how students fall through the cracks. Disappointed!
A
Anastasia Stoubos
· petition starter
9 years ago
I second that!!! Excellent!!!!
K
Krista Hauschildt
9 years ago
I support what was stated in the petition as one of the parents who will now have a daughter in one of those 5/6 classes.
This is wrong on so many levels!
Be fair to our children!
My son has been in split classes for the last 2 years. We also lost a division and a teacher on Friday after the first week of school. This year I believe we will have more split classes than ones with just a single grade.
A grandmother, retired teacher, who is concerned with the education of her grandson
A change like this after school classes have been set and teacher's workplans and classrooms have been set are extremely disruptive and stressful for everyone involved. Splitting a peer group four ways is not conducive to strong peer bonds and having those strong friendships going into highschool.
30 students in split classes is too many.
It is
Stop spreading teachers so thin. Our kids need more support. Enough is enough
Keep what the kids were already introduced to!
According to reports in Feb 2016, the average class size for students in BC is 25. So, it is with significant disappointment we realized the District upended Laronde school on Friday, in what clearly had be a decision primarily driven by cost savings without consideration for the emotional wellbeing and educational outcomes of children, to create classes of 29 and 30; whereas these classes would have averaged 25 prior to that decision. According to our child, they were in a class of 26. Further, for a school where the population and relative numbers of children per class is known with fair certainty at the end of the prior school year; this decision on the part of the District could have and should have been made in May or June, not in September at the 13th hour when students had been assigned, teachers hired and moved, and students settled. What lesson are we giving children about those with control and responsibility given the lack of forethought being presented here? School should be a place our children can count on as safe and stable. Stability was certainly not what our children experienced on Friday. There was anxiety aplenty as these children left school on Friday. All weekend we wait as families to determine, for a second time, where our children will wind up. This is the second time our child has been moved at the start of a school year with a lack of forethought to the impact. Most adults struggle with change, but somehow children should deal with it without consequence? While we are not necessarily opposed to split classes, to have almost all the children in grades 5, 6 and 7 in splits seems just a bit absurd. We are certain our school administration has done their utmost to work with a decision presented to them by the District with no notice. It is somewhat laughable that they should have to rejig 7 classes and present them for class pictures on Monday! We were impressed to witness the level of dedication and professionalism demonstrated
My son struggles with anxiety and after a successful first few days at school things were going well. He got the teacher he wanted, there would finally be no grade 7 split classes but rather two full grade 7 classes. He had gotten his two only friends in his class (he struggles to make friends), he made a name tag for his desk, and started getting used to his new teacher's routine. On Friday they were told to pack everything up from their desks as teachers were changing and classes were changing. There was no consideration for the students or families involved. The grade sevens are now been split up, the grade sixes are being split into not two but four different classes and the effects continue all the way to grade 4 students. Needless to say my son is devastated! He came home crying, filled with anxiety about what Monday will hold and has been on edge all weekend, tearful whenever school is mentioned. This weekend we were going to celebrate a successful beginning to the school year, but now my son has suffered with severe anxiety all weekend waiting to see what will happen on Monday. He doesn't know who his classmates will be, who his teacher will be or if his friends will be with him. Just another example how the lack of funding is letting students down. Had this been planned from the beginning of the year it would have made a huge difference to students, but introducing them into a classroom, to a teacher, a routine, and what they thought would be consistent for the rest of the year and then simply just taking all that away is disrespectful. Not only are we getting bigger class sizes, but the amount of anxiety that this has caused my son really helps shine light on how everyone is overlooking how budget decisions impacts the students.
I am appalled at this change. We have just moved from Alberta to beautiful BC. Class size in any of the classrooms our children have attended as never been higher that 25 children.
Yes our children matter immensely! For this reason, we are their voices here to fight for them!
I am sure that this decision was driven by financial concerns the district has. However, waiting until Friday afternoon to do so was extremely unfair because it left everyone up in the air over the weekend. Parents would have responded immediately to these events if the news had been given on Wednesday or Thursday. Because the decision was announced on Friday, it left everyone in limbo over the weekend which was not a fair way to go about letting the school community know. Teachers are in the unenviable position of having to learn and prepare new curriculum for the new grades they are teaching, in far too short a time frame. All in all, the timing of this decision was very poor. The district must have known on Tuesday, or at the latest, Wednesday that the numbers for the classes weren't what they wanted to see.
Well said!!!!
My husband and I have 4 children at Laronde Elementary in gr 7, gr 5, gr 4 and gr 2. When I picked up my kids from school on Friday I was completely blindsided to find out that 3 out of 4 of my children were being disrupted and/or dispersed. Those odds are both disappointing and disgraceful! As I checked in on my older two children I was stunned to see my gr 7 and my gr 5 with upset and confusion in their eyes as they were packing up their already unpacked and organized desks of school supplies into large plastic bags to await being herded around like cattle! And when I approached my youngest baby's gr 2 class I was further struck with the aftershock that she was forced to say goodbye to her new teacher that she had just become settle with and that she had no understanding of the reason why! Absolutely schocking! In total, 7 divisions, 7 teachers and more than 150 students were visibly affected by this after-the-fact back-door decision that none of the dozens and dozens of families involved were given any warning. That's over 1/3 of the schools population! When the current gr 7's were heading into gr 6 the district attempted to organize the divisions in this exact disorganization with gr 6 being split 4 ways and class sizes upwards of 30 kids each. This would result in very stressful and challenging teaching conditions where each student could not possibly receive the level of education that they require and deserve. Additionally, having extremely small grade level peer groups in each class could dramatically affect the students socially, especially the graduating class, where a small percentage would be removed from the daily activities of their peers. Not a positive position to be in heading into their high school years! The families of Laronde were strongly opposed and made it very clear that this type of split class dispersement was intolerable and as a result the proposal was overturned. It was not acceptable then and it is not acceptable now! The
Average class size in BC grade 4-7 is 25.9 students per class. With these changes there will be 30 in the new classes with new/substitute teachers teaching two curriculums. This is not winning. This is how students fall through the cracks. Disappointed!
I second that!!! Excellent!!!!
I support what was stated in the petition as one of the parents who will now have a daughter in one of those 5/6 classes.
Do not cut teachers from L