For those of you who do not know, after fighting hard two years ago to have a 7th class added, this upcoming school years, our childrens' classes are being reduced from 7 to 6. This means that instead of an average of 18 students per class, the class average next year will be 22. This raises serious concerns as 3rd grade is the first year for standardized testing and a smaller class would be more conducive for our children's learning. There are also concerns about increasing the class sizes in light of this particular class and the fact that 3 of the 6 classes next year will be co-taught classes. In addition, there are concerns about the classroom environment (congested, too hot etc); distractions to the children.

It has been explained that the school does not view the loss of a 7th teacher as a "cut" because the school is gaining an "AIS" teacher. AIS stands for Academic Intervention Services and is available to all students. Dr. Brady has advised that common core learning standards have created a greater need for AIS at Springhurst. This begs the question whether the larger class sizes in conjunction with common core is created the need for AIS and smaller classes would alleviate any need.

I implore anyone with concerns about these larger classes next year to sign this petition and attend the BOE meeting on 5/21 at 7 pm in HS/MS Library! Thank you for your time and attention!

For anyone that has questions or would like to learn more about our conversations to date with the BOE and Dr. Brady, please feel free to contact me (NIcole Sullivan) at nicolesull5@gmail.com or 917-446-2571.