Maximum Class Size for First Grade and Second Grade?

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know what the maximum class size FCPS will allow in first grade and second grade? I"m wondering what the cut off is for those two grades before a new class needs to be formed.

[Anonymous]

I know it has to be greater than 30 b/c my child had 30 last year.

[Anonymous]

Where? The max I hear around our neighborhood is 26.

[Anonymous]

It varies -- I don't think it's as simple as you're imagining it. But here's a chart that may interest you.

http://www.fcps.edu/it/studentreporting/documents/ElmClassSizeAvg2011.pdf

[Anonymous]

That chart is very deceptive. It says the average for my school's 1-3rd grades is 23... but in reality, my child had 30 last year (and the other three classrooms of that grade were at least 27). I believe the grade above DC's had very low class sizes (20) and the grade below DC's was middle-ish (25). So, maybe it averaged out to 23, but I don't really care about the average when my kid is in a class of 30.

(Although, DC did in fact survive... so it's not all gloom and doom. Just don't trust that the "average" statistics are representative of every classroom.)

[Anonymous]

Our neighborhood school's K classes were split evenly. The chart posted was correct for the beginning of the year.

[Anonymous]

If it is a Title I school it has lower limits for K-3 dictated by federal rules. The chart is also out of date - our school ende dup with a MUCH higher average than what's listed there due to growth.

[Anonymous]

We're at a Title I school in FCPS where the K-3 cap is 21. We love it.

I asked the principal if it was the same at all Title1 schools and she said that the cap is determined by the percentage of kids qualifying for free/reduced lunch. Some schools have higher caps like 24.