Second Grade at Bannockburn ES - 27 Per Class

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is typical class size at wood acres and it has been fine.

I put two though Woodacres and I wouldn’t say that unheard of or typical. It really varied depending on the year. That said they typically have a floating teacher and do breakouts effectively cutting the classes in half for important subjects like reading where they go to a different classroom. Seemed well managed to me

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is typical class size at wood acres and it has been fine.

I hate all the posters saying it's "fine" and basically shaming OP. It's not actually okay, it sucks. Our taxes are high, the budget is huge, and young kids have huge classes which sucks for them and teachers. No wonder the county can just foist higher class size guidelines on us with zero pushback and everyone just rolling over.

Probably half the PPs think someone living in Bannockburn has no right to complain about anything.

- fellow MCPS ES mom

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is typical class size at wood acres and it has been fine.

I hate all the posters saying it's "fine" and basically shaming OP. It's not actually okay, it sucks. Our taxes are high, the budget is huge, and young kids have huge classes which sucks for them and teachers. No wonder the county can just foist higher class size guidelines on us with zero pushback and everyone just rolling over.

Probably half the PPs think someone living in Bannockburn has no right to complain about anything.

- fellow MCPS ES mom

I agree it’s not fine. But take a look at the MoCo County Council and how one of the members Andrew Friedsen recently proposes a bill to reduce the tax that real estate developers pay towards public schools. Our policymakers are not prioritizing our schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is typical class size at wood acres and it has been fine.

I hate all the posters saying it's "fine" and basically shaming OP. It's not actually okay, it sucks. Our taxes are high, the budget is huge, and young kids have huge classes which sucks for them and teachers. No wonder the county can just foist higher class size guidelines on us with zero pushback and everyone just rolling over.

Probably half the PPs think someone living in Bannockburn has no right to complain about anything.

- fellow MCPS ES mom

I agree it’s not fine. But take a look at the MoCo County Council and how one of the members Andrew Friedsen recently proposes a bill to reduce the tax that real estate developers pay towards public schools. Our policymakers are not prioritizing our schools.

Yes I have been following that. It's truly awful. More $$ for rich developer pockets instead of schools.

I was mostly reacting to everyone acting like OP shouldn't care about the large class size at her school. That's not how schools get prioritized.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is typical class size at wood acres and it has been fine.

I hate all the posters saying it's "fine" and basically shaming OP. It's not actually okay, it sucks. Our taxes are high, the budget is huge, and young kids have huge classes which sucks for them and teachers. No wonder the county can just foist higher class size guidelines on us with zero pushback and everyone just rolling over.

Probably half the PPs think someone living in Bannockburn has no right to complain about anything.

- fellow MCPS ES mom

+1 There are some really great MCPS teachers out there who can manage this well (I am fortunate my kid has one), but it's sad to see those classrooms crammed with tables of kids sitting 6 at a group instead of 4, and with teachers doing their best to mark the papers and give reading and math support to so many kids at once.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is typical class size at wood acres and it has been fine.

I hate all the posters saying it's "fine" and basically shaming OP. It's not actually okay, it sucks. Our taxes are high, the budget is huge, and young kids have huge classes which sucks for them and teachers. No wonder the county can just foist higher class size guidelines on us with zero pushback and everyone just rolling over.

Probably half the PPs think someone living in Bannockburn has no right to complain about anything.

- fellow MCPS ES mom

Why the reaction? Because the OP demonstrates she's either oblivious to the reality faced by other MCPS schools or she believes that her neighborhood deserves special treatment. Based on her follow-up post, probably both.

Is 27 even that high? I had that many in my elementary school classes in the early 90s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is typical class size at wood acres and it has been fine.

I hate all the posters saying it's "fine" and basically shaming OP. It's not actually okay, it sucks. Our taxes are high, the budget is huge, and young kids have huge classes which sucks for them and teachers. No wonder the county can just foist higher class size guidelines on us with zero pushback and everyone just rolling over.

Probably half the PPs think someone living in Bannockburn has no right to complain about anything.

- fellow MCPS ES mom

Why the reaction? Because the OP demonstrates she's either oblivious to the reality faced by other MCPS schools or she believes that her neighborhood deserves special treatment. Based on her follow-up post, probably both.

Is 27 even that high? I had that many in my elementary school classes in the early 90s.

+1. People always complain about everything under the sun but do very little to nothing to change things.

Class sizes can’t be smaller without space. Advocate for boundary adjustments and funding for school buildings. At minimum advocate for K-2 classrooms to all have a fulltime para and 3-5 to have a halftime or floating para so as to help ensure kids all have support to gain foundational skills.

Talk to the council AND state representatives. Join a MCCPTA committee

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is typical class size at wood acres and it has been fine.

I hate all the posters saying it's "fine" and basically shaming OP. It's not actually okay, it sucks. Our taxes are high, the budget is huge, and young kids have huge classes which sucks for them and teachers. No wonder the county can just foist higher class size guidelines on us with zero pushback and everyone just rolling over.

Probably half the PPs think someone living in Bannockburn has no right to complain about anything.

- fellow MCPS ES mom

Why the reaction? Because the OP demonstrates she's either oblivious to the reality faced by other MCPS schools or she believes that her neighborhood deserves special treatment. Based on her follow-up post, probably both.

Is 27 even that high? I had that many in my elementary school classes in the early 90s.

+1. People always complain about everything under the sun but do very little to nothing to change things.

Class sizes can’t be smaller without space. Advocate for boundary adjustments and funding for school buildings. At minimum advocate for K-2 classrooms to all have a fulltime para and 3-5 to have a halftime or floating para so as to help ensure kids all have support to gain foundational skills.

Talk to the council AND state representatives. Join a MCCPTA committee

Sure they can. You can't make classes at every school smaller, but you can move the less desirable children at the Op's school to other schools. Or you can take teachers away from schools serving the poors and send them to Bannockburn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is typical class size at wood acres and it has been fine.

I hate all the posters saying it's "fine" and basically shaming OP. It's not actually okay, it sucks. Our taxes are high, the budget is huge, and young kids have huge classes which sucks for them and teachers. No wonder the county can just foist higher class size guidelines on us with zero pushback and everyone just rolling over.

Probably half the PPs think someone living in Bannockburn has no right to complain about anything.

- fellow MCPS ES mom

I agree it’s not fine. But take a look at the MoCo County Council and how one of the members Andrew Friedsen recently proposes a bill to reduce the tax that real estate developers pay towards public schools. Our policymakers are not prioritizing our schools.

And just looks at the thousands of additional housing units built right now. Without the schools and other infrastructure to support all these additional residents.

Our policymakers and politicians don’t care about our schools or our families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is typical class size at wood acres and it has been fine.

I hate all the posters saying it's "fine" and basically shaming OP. It's not actually okay, it sucks. Our taxes are high, the budget is huge, and young kids have huge classes which sucks for them and teachers. No wonder the county can just foist higher class size guidelines on us with zero pushback and everyone just rolling over.

Probably half the PPs think someone living in Bannockburn has no right to complain about anything.

- fellow MCPS ES mom

AGREED! My middle school kid has over 35 kids is several of his classes. The teachers are unhappy and overwhelmed. There aren’t enough textbooks for all the kids. There aren’t even enough classrooms at some high schools so the kids have class in the Media Center.

It’s not okay. We’ll lose good teachers and our kids’ education quality will decline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is typical class size at wood acres and it has been fine.

I hate all the posters saying it's "fine" and basically shaming OP. It's not actually okay, it sucks. Our taxes are high, the budget is huge, and young kids have huge classes which sucks for them and teachers. No wonder the county can just foist higher class size guidelines on us with zero pushback and everyone just rolling over.

Probably half the PPs think someone living in Bannockburn has no right to complain about anything.

- fellow MCPS ES mom

I agree it’s not fine. But take a look at the MoCo County Council and how one of the members Andrew Friedsen recently proposes a bill to reduce the tax that real estate developers pay towards public schools. Our policymakers are not prioritizing our schools.

And just looks at the thousands of additional housing units built right now. Without the schools and other infrastructure to support all these additional residents.

Our policymakers and politicians don’t care about our schools or our families.

People have to live somewhere. You're not special just because you moved here before someone else. If you agree we need more schools, tell your councilmember and stop complaining about your MoCo taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The guideline is 26 students/class at second grade, so I'm not sure why you're surprised.

I'm surprised because Bannockburn has a reputation for smaller class sizes, which is something that gets repeated ad nauseam but is apparently not true.

Bannockburn has gotten lucky over the years with having just a few too many kids enrolled and getting that 3rd teacher.

+1. There is no buying your way to smaller class sizes in MoCo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The guideline is 26 students/class at second grade, so I'm not sure why you're surprised.

I'm surprised because Bannockburn has a reputation for smaller class sizes, which is something that gets repeated ad nauseam but is apparently not true.

Bannockburn has gotten lucky over the years with having just a few too many kids enrolled and getting that 3rd teacher.

+1. There is no buying your way to smaller class sizes in MoCo.

If small class sizes are your priority, you can move to an area zoned to a Focus or Title I school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The guideline is 26 students/class at second grade, so I'm not sure why you're surprised.

I'm surprised because Bannockburn has a reputation for smaller class sizes, which is something that gets repeated ad nauseam but is apparently not true.

Bannockburn has gotten lucky over the years with having just a few too many kids enrolled and getting that 3rd teacher.

+1. There is no buying your way to smaller class sizes in MoCo.

If small class sizes are your priority, you can move to an area zoned to a Focus or Title I school.

Why? Do rich, white kids only count as 3/5ths of a student for teacher allocation purposes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:27 kids with just 1 teacher in elementary school is ridiculous. Do they have an aide or helper too?

I am sure there is no aide. It is absolutely appalling. The situation with MCPS is in my opinion dire and simply reducing class size would go a long way