Parents ask Mt. Lebanon School Board for smaller elementary class sizes
Parents of several Lincoln Elementary School students returned to the meeting of the Mt. Lebanon School Board to request additional teachers to create smaller class sizes.
Parents of incoming first- and fourth-graders presented an official request during the board’s July 17 meeting for one teacher to be added to each grade with the intent to bring class sizes down from 25 or more students.
“There is an inequitable trend in staffing numbers at Lincoln over the past 10 years,” Kim Yetter said while reading a letter sent from parents to the board before the meeting.
Yetter said that, according to data she received from the district in response to an open records requests, Lincoln currently has an average of 22.61 students per section, putting it above the 10-year district average of 20.1 students per section.
Parents also expressed concerns over the larger-than-average class sizes at the June 19 school board meeting, saying that their children were struggling academically and socially in a more crowded classroom. Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education Marybeth Irvin assured parents that the fourth-grade class at Lincoln was meeting the district academic average.
“When it comes to the test scores, it seems that the fourth-grade class performed at par with the district,” Lincoln parent Jen Kelly said. “However, academic performance is not the only measure of student growth. Social and emotional learning, the idea that children are comfortable in their environment, have positive learning experiences, reduce the stress surrounding school homework and the learning process is another important indicator of a child’s success.”
Five other parents also address the board, echoing concerns of large class sizes, impaired opportunities for learning and the need for two additional teachers to be added at Lincoln.
“Is my tax dollars not the same as somebody else in the Markham district?” Melanie Austin said of another elementary school.
In addition to the letter requesting two new teachers, parents presented the board with several peer-reviews studies that showcased the benefits of smaller class sizes. While smaller class sizes have been shown to foster better learning, Irvin said, the data in these studies is often difficult to interpret and can present skewed information.
“The issue is,” she said, “when you start looking at some of those studies and some of the other larger studies that are meta analyses is that there’s not always a consistency in what they’re talking about when they talk about small class sizes.”
Irvin said that in some of the studies, a reduction of seven to 10 kids is made to achieve better results. Studies might also include results based on professional development and greater impacts on younger students, those in poverty or those with minority backgrounds.
“We believe and I believe and I know our principals believe and our teachers believe that we can achieve the same level of success that the district is known for given the staffing levels that we have currently proposed,” she said.
Superintendent Timothy Steinhauer said that the district would be keeping the first- and fourth-grade classes at Lincoln on a watch list to see if additional staffing would be necessary. Other class sections in other buildings are also being monitored for growing enrollment.
While there’s no current plan to address the issue further at board meetings, board members expressed appreciation that the topic of large class sizes was being addressed.
“I think class size is key as well,” board member Hugh Beal said. “I would be willing to vote to fund that. If we have to reopen the budget, I’d be willing to do that. I think we can find money and I think it’s something the administration should strongly consider.”
His comments were met with applause from the parents in attendance. Board member Lawrence Lebowitz emphasized the importance of having this discussion, regardless of the district’s position on adding the teachers to the Lincoln staff. Irvin has offered to meet with concerned parents in a smaller group.