Parents raise concerns about class sizes at Mt. Lebanon elementary school
The Mt. Lebanon School Board fielded questions about class size from parents of Lincoln Elementary School’s incoming fourth graders and how larger class sizes could impact academic performance.
Five mothers addressed the board June 19 to express concerns and said distractions, loud classrooms and decreased individual attention from classes with as many as 27 students all contributed to difficulty learning in their children’s third grade year.
“It didn’t turn out so well, at least from a parent’s perspective, last year,” Laurie Young told the board.
Last year, the grade was split into three classrooms with 25 to 27 students each. An aide was given to the grade to assist teachers, but according to the parents who spoke, that made little difference to learning. The aid handled grading, which parents felt only increased the distance between students and their teacher.
“I think in Mt. Lebanon School District, we can do better than 27 in a class,” Marsha Arnold said.
According to Superintendent Timothy Steinhauer, that class is being monitored for enrollment over the summer. No decision will be made about how the grade will be sectioned into classrooms until closer to the school year. He said elementary class sized in the district range from 15 to 27 students.
While the parents addressing the board expressed concerns about the students’ academic achievements, Marybeth Irvin, assistant superintendent of elementary education, said that the class did better in their third grade year than they did in their second, when the grade was split into four smaller classrooms.
“They are meeting the same gains as the district average,” she said.
She said she understood parent concerns and that she would ideally like to see classrooms with no more than 25 students.
Also during the meeting, the school board approved Melissa Nelson as the new principal of Washington Elementary School. Nelson previously served as the Mellon Middle School assistant principal before stepping in as interim principal of Washington last school year due to the retirement of former principal Mary Kay Davis.
Earlier in the meeting, the school board unanimously approved accepting Utica National as the district’s insurance company to cover property and liability at $259,439. National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh will cover student athlete insurance at $11,853 and Brickstreet Insurance will cover worker’s compensation.
They also approved an increase in the cost of school lunches. As discussed at the June 12 board meeting, the increase brings the school closer to the national average cost of lunches. The increase won’t interfere with the cost of lunch for students in the reduced and free lunch program. Elementary school lunches will cost $2.40, while secondary school’s will charge between $2.55 and $3.45 for lunch.
The board also approved the purchase of a school bus for $61,277 that the believe will save the district money in outsourced transportation fees over the lifetime of the bus.