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Schools

Blind Brook School District Considers Adding an Additional Third Grade Class

The Blind Brook Board of Education discussed optimal class size at Monday's meeting.

The Blind Brook Board of Education and members of the community debated class sizes at Monday's board meeting, with some saying that having more students in each class would not be in the best interest of the district.

Because of a large outgoing second grade class, the superintendent's proposed 2010-11 budget includes the hiring of an additional third grade teacher.

Stephen Young, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, gave a presentation on ideal class size Monday, which included the results of several studies on class size and a comparison of Blind Brook's class size to that of other local districts.

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"The jury is still out on class size," Young said. "There is no magic number."

Young discussed the realistic average class size as supposed to the ideal class size.  Realistically, for grades K-2 the class size would be 22 students, for grades 3-6, the class size would be 24, and for core classes in grades 7-12, the realistic average is 28.  However, the ideal class size would be 20, 22 and 24 for each group, respectively.

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This year's second grade class at the Ridge Street School, which includes six sections, has an average class size of 23.8. If the school district were to hire an additional teacher for the 2010-2011 school year, it would bring the average class size down to 20.4. In grades K-5, the second grade class has the largest average class size, and according to many parents who spoke at the meeting, this class is also the largest overall.

At Monday's meeting, parents with children in the second grade spoke about the disadvantages of larger class sizes, saying that their children complain about noise and minimized individual attention.

"I grew up in Rye Brook and moved back here for the schools," second grade parent Allison Brown said. "We're not asking for special treatment, but for the class to be in line with the other grades."

Several board members, including Glen Schuster, Nancy Barr, and Sheri Zarkower, spoke in favor of adding a teacher. Though the district has proposed eliminating nine staff positions, the addition of another teacher could be costly in a district where teachers make an average of $102,000 plus benefits.

Some community members questioned the value of adding one teacher to the class.

"In the best of all worlds we would have very low class sizes, but it's a reality and the reality is the costs of having class sizes of 20 or lower," Board of Education member Lawrence Engle said. Engle, Board of Education President Steven Kaplan, and a few community members also said the district needs to determine what class size can help it best meet its educational goals.

The Board of Education also discussed possible changes to the special education budget, including the elimination of after school programs and the district's occupational therapist and psychologist.

The Board of Education will meet on Monday, April 19 to adopt the district's 2010-11 budget. 

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