K-3 Class Size Hearing November 15, 2017 History of the K-3 Class - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

302.552.3700 | 1502 Spruce Avenue, Wilmington, DE 19805 | www.redclay.k12.de.us K-3 Class Size Hearing November 15, 2017

History of the K-3 Class Size Legislation (maximum student to instructor ratio requirements) Initial Bill adopted in 1998  Change in the State Formula was provided to increase  teaching units Required class size not to exceed a student count of (22)  A Paraprofessional in a classroom can count as one half of a  teacher unit. (33:1.5 allowed) Legislative update in July 2008 established a “uniform”  reporting format for class size data state-wide 11/15/2017 Presentation to the Board of Education Slide 2

Unit Divisor for Grades K-3 11/15/2017 Presentation to the Board of Education Slide 3

Compliance Challenges  The formula does not take into account the variation of enrollment figures a school experiences from grade to grade  State financial support is not provided for students who enter the school district from 9/30 through the last day of October. 11/15/2017 Presentation to the Board of Education Slide 4

Compliance Challenges  The class size requirement does not address the potential impact on areas such as library, art, music, and physical education  Staff to support basic special education, TAG, school counseling, Language Development and technology programs must be funded through each building’s earned units 11/15/2017 Presentation to the Board of Education Slide 5

Current Status  Based on teacher student ratios on October 31, 2017 (last student day in October) five Red Clay elementary schools require a class size waiver.  Specialized staff and paraprofessionals reduce teacher to student ratios through push-in support. 11/15/2017 Presentation to the Board of Education Slide 6

DOE “Uniform” Reporting Method Grade Number of Students <15 15-19 20-22 23 24 25 26+ KN 10 26 27 0 0 0 0 1 9 24 30 1 0 0 0 2 13 17 32 4 1 0 0 3 10 24 28 2 1 1 0 Total # of classrooms 40 94 111 7 2 1 0 2017-18 15.7% 36.9% 43.5% 2.7% 0.8% 0.4% 0% 11/15/2017 Presentation to the Board of Education Slide 7

Class Size Waiver Report as of October 31, 2017 Schools Requiring Waiver  Baltz  Brandywine Springs  Cooke  Linden Hill  North Star 11/15/2017 Presentation to the Board of Education Slide 8

Waiver Request  A class size waiver is being requested for the 2017 - 2018 school year. The School Board must approve the waiver by December 1 st  The final report to the Department of Education will be submitted prior to December 20 th based on the enrollments as of October 31 th 11/15/2017 Presentation to the Board of Education Slide 9