Is it true that some elementary school classes can have up to 30 kids and only one teacher? What is the maximum number of students in a kindergarten class? |
I haven't heard 30, but I have heard 27-28 for some schools. Maximum number depends on whether or not it's a Title I/Focus school. It doesn't really have to do with overcrowding, just the budget for student-teacher ratio. Overcrowded schools just have lots of portables, not necessarily more students stuffed into a classroom.
On a school's "at-a-glance" page, you can see the average number of students in a K class, grades 1-2, and grades 3-5. |
They all are down county! |
OP is asking about large K classes. Many schools upcounty have larger classes, and many downcounty do not. So, you are incorrect. |
I'm not sure what the cutoff for K class size is, but overcrowding and K class size are two different issues. A school being "overcrowded" is a function of the overall school size in relation to the number it was built for. For example, Rachel Carson Elementary was built for 600-ish kids, yet over 900 currently attend. |
Agree with this. Just look for portables outside the school. As far as big kindergarten classes, red zone schools have smaller classes because they have additional Title 1 funding. |
When are they doing something about Rachel Carson? Does anyone foresee them re-zoning? |
My child is down county and has 19 children in her K class. Put a sock in it, lady. |
OP, be more specific.
Do you want to know about overcrowding, e.g., the school was built for X but is over capacity at the time with x+ students attending OR do you want to know about schools with large numbers of kids in a kindergarten class with 1 teacher? As pps note, these are different items. |
Woodacres and Bethesda Elementary are way over capacity.
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and have large class sizes! |
Went to a talk hosted by a DC elementary school. 27 is the magic number, but apparently every single K class has to be at 27 students with a 28th kid enrolling for them to request another teacher (i.e. another K class). So, if your school hit the magic number and gets another teacher then you can have 19 kids in each of the classes. But, if your child enters on a year where they are close to, but not at, capacity, s/he can be stuck in a 27 kid classroom. ![]() |
23:08 here, realized I used the initials DC to mean down county not District of Columbia... whoops. |
Bethesda Elementary family here: my first grader has 29 students in her class and my fourth grader as 28. It is an immersion school so there is a very wide range of needs and abilities amongst the students. To be honest it is shocking to me that they get any work done and I do worry about how much attention my kids get. Luckily, they are both good students and able to work independently.BE also has a fairly transient student population so there have been a number of arrivals/departures in my kids' classrooms...not great for stability, either. |
oops, I didn't mean to write immersion...I meant to write inclusion. |