Class sizes at your local public vs private?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At our "big 3" we had 2 teachers (NOT one teacher plus an aide, but rather 2 full, co-equal teachers) for a class of 20 in PK and K.

That seems like a lot for that age especially for private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just a quick note:
Research suggests that class size does not really have an impact on student achievement (within reason). The quality of the teacher is FAR more important than the size of the class.

Does not mean it would not be preferable to have smaller classes....but small classes in and of themselves do not guarantee high achievement. That said, a teacher needs to be highly skilled to manage a larger class. I would prefer the public schools spend more money on high quality teachers than on reducing class size.


Signed,
Education researcher

But many kids do not thrive in a large loud environment such as a kindergarten class with 26 kids and no aide, no matter how good the teacher is. That is what my daughter had and it was sensory overload. The class was always so loud, the teacher always had to stop her reading group to get other kids in centers to re-focus. Many kids would never do the work and there was nothing you could do. When I would come in to volunteer, the teacher used to run out because she had to go to the bathroom. She was an excellent teacher but that is not the way to teach kindergarten kids. It was completely overwhelming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At our "big 3" we had 2 teachers (NOT one teacher plus an aide, but rather 2 full, co-equal teachers) for a class of 20 in PK and K.

That seems like a lot for that age especially for private school.

10 to 1 is a pretty good number.

[Anonymous]

I know you asked about the burbs, but my Ker in DCPS has 18 kids in his class, a teacher and an aide. This is the same set up as our friends who have kids at private school do (though no more aide after 1st)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:3rd grade at a DC language immersion charter, 18 kids, 3 teachers - head, teacher intern, Sp Ed. Inclusion classroom.

How does this CMI classroom compare with your local independent school?

[Anonymous]

Stonemill Elementary. North Potomac. 21 kids in kindergarten. 25-40 in the rest.

My child goes to a private school though. 16 in K, and about 13 in the rest.

I think anything under 15 is actually too small, socially. 20 would be a nice number. I know my son would get lost in classes 25-30. He would be allowed to daydream, not pay attention. Because I did the same thing. He can't get away with that right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stonemill Elementary. North Potomac. 21 kids in kindergarten. 25-40 in the rest.

My child goes to a private school though. 16 in K, and about 13 in the rest.

I think anything under 15 is actually too small, socially. 20 would be a nice number. I know my son would get lost in classes 25-30. He would be allowed to daydream, not pay attention. Because I did the same thing. He can't get away with that right now.

That's 25-30 in the other grades at stonemill. Not 40. Sorry!

[Anonymous]

I think there is so much more to this them class sizes.

For young children, where it's important to be comfortable and secure and have an accessible adult, larger classes might be intimidating or negatively impact a shy, sensitive, or awkward child. At this age, I am less concerned about academic impact, but the peers and behavioral environment of the room does matter.

For older children who are academically motivated and surrounded by a lot of peers who are at a similar level, in a classroom with few behavioral or managerial issues, 34 could be fine.

It just depends on so many things. That said, we moved to a district where we are zoned for a public school with small classes, because I think that fits my child's personality best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:3rd grade at a DC language immersion charter, 18 kids, 3 teachers - head, teacher intern, Sp Ed. Inclusion classroom.

How does this CMI classroom compare with your local independent school?

Not at CMI. We are at Yu Ying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:3rd grade at a DC language immersion charter, 18 kids, 3 teachers - head, teacher intern, Sp Ed. Inclusion classroom.

How does this CMI classroom compare with your local independent school?

Not at CMI. We are at Yu Ying.

CMI is not immersion.

Smaller class sizes than local DC privates which surprised me. Our class sizes shrink in upper elementary to ~15 due to attrition bc YY does not take anyone after 2nd grade.

NYC private schools have smaller avg classrooms than DC, avg 14-16. Not sure how DC private schools get away with 18+

[Anonymous]

Fairfax County, Vienna area, moved here in part for excellent schools. It's the worst. 29 kids in my DS 2nd grade class....5 ESOL, and at least 4 with significant behavioral issues....DS has learned very little, comes home and sighs "we didn't get to math again today because the class was in trouble..." teacher is terrific but needs one, if not two assistants...we've had it and are moving him to private next year......I mean 2nd grade and he didn't get a spelling list to learn until January.....so we pay the mortgage and the high taxes and there you have it....sigh...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:3rd grade at a DC language immersion charter, 18 kids, 3 teachers - head, teacher intern, Sp Ed. Inclusion classroom.

How does this CMI classroom compare with your local independent school?

Not at CMI. We are at Yu Ying.

CMI is not immersion.

Smaller class sizes than local DC privates which surprised me. Our class sizes shrink in upper elementary to ~15 due to attrition bc YY does not take anyone after 2nd grade.

NYC private schools have smaller avg classrooms than DC, avg 14-16. Not sure how DC private schools get away with 18+

Ah! I thought I recognized you, cheerful YY poster. You're the one who's going to move to either New York or Massachusetts when your YY child is ready for middle school, so you can get keep the only-Mandarin, not-DCI thing going.

Let's stipulate that YY is one of the better public schools in DC. The better independent schools in DC (Beauvoir, Maret, Sidwell, GDS) have +/- 18 kids in third grade. Maret is smaller (14 or 15), GDS is a touch bigger (20). Sidwell ranges somewhere between 17-20.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:3rd grade at a DC language immersion charter, 18 kids, 3 teachers - head, teacher intern, Sp Ed. Inclusion classroom.

How does this CMI classroom compare with your local independent school?

Not at CMI. We are at Yu Ying.

CMI is not immersion.

Smaller class sizes than local DC privates which surprised me. Our class sizes shrink in upper elementary to ~15 due to attrition bc YY does not take anyone after 2nd grade.

NYC private schools have smaller avg classrooms than DC, avg 14-16. Not sure how DC private schools get away with 18+

Ah! I thought I recognized you, cheerful YY poster. You're the one who's going to move to either New York or Massachusetts when your YY child is ready for middle school, so you can get keep the only-Mandarin, not-DCI thing going.

Let's stipulate that YY is one of the better public schools in DC. The better independent schools in DC (Beauvoir, Maret, Sidwell, GDS) have +/- 18 kids in third grade. Maret is smaller (14 or 15), GDS is a touch bigger (20). Sidwell ranges somewhere between 17-20.

Like I said, the DC private schools seem to avg around 18

We've ruled out MA. We will be moving back Manhattan... I must say, I am flattered you "know" me!

[Anonymous]

I have one kid in public, one in private. Both have 19 kids in their class.

Class size matters a lot. So does having a great teacher. Also important is having a strong group of classmates! If you have slow or disruptive learners it will slow learning down for everyone, especially in public. In private, they divide kids into groups more often so it has less influence (in my experience).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in the Whitman district in Montgomery County, arguably one of the best performing districts around. I received an email with this info encouraging us to fight for funds to expand both the middle school (Thomas Pyle) and the High school (Walt Whitman). People love the schools, as the administration and teachers do a wonderful job with what they have, but the space problem is just getting worse.

- Pyle has 1526 students in a building built for 1000.
- Pyle students eat lunch in the hallways and in classrooms during four lunch periods because of extreme overcrowding in the cafeteria.
- 5 to 6 PE classes occur at one time in the gym, which is designed for 2 classes. Students sit out during gym class and play games in the corridors outside the gym while they wait their turn to participate.
- Pyle stairwells are overflowing with students in between classes and some staircases are utilized as “down” or “up” only.
- Pyle has converted all computer labs, storage spaces and closets to classroom space.
- Walt Whitman High School was built for 1891 students and now has 2000 students.
- Many classes have over 34 students and students squeeze into classrooms designed for far less.

This is really pathetic. I don't know how anyone in their right mind could argue that these conditions are acceptable, let alone advantageous.