Class sizes at your local public vs private?

[Anonymous]

We have one kid in a NW DC public- 22 kids in his class, and 2 others in private-- 14-15 kids per class.

[Anonymous]

2 in public in Silver Spring. 17 in 1st grade, 25 in 4th grade.

[Anonymous]

3rd grade NWDC public: 18 with main teacher and student teacher.

[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

I completely agree with two caveats - that the differenciation expected in our modern education system is not possible in a large inclusive class, even with the best teacher, and that discipline gets harder the less respectful and individualistic our society becomes.

My Japanese father was in a class of 50! No behavior issues, complete quiet during class. It was a different culture and different epoch where students and parents still respected teachers. Learning disorders went untreated, everyone was supposed to learn the same thing, at the same time.

[Anonymous]

PP again - for OP's benefit:
Bethesda Elementary, 5th grade class, 30 kids.
Paraeducator comes in every now and then to attend to children who need it.

[Anonymous]

Bethesda area - K class of 29 - current K class less, but increased enrollment added a new class. Classes range from 20-29 depending on enrollment numbers & ability to get funding approved for additional teachers. Later grades a little larger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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...

We are in the same boat as you here in Vienna. However, our DD is in 6th grade and we are worried she is not learning the basics. Looking at private as well.

[Anonymous]

Fairfax county. Our public has 26-28 per class. Teacher plus aide in K, 1 teacher after that.

DS in private K has 2 teachers for 16 kids.

[Anonymous]

One in public - 17 kids in 1st.

One in private - 23 kids in a mixed age classroom with 3 teachers.

[Anonymous]

DD is in 2nd grade in a public school in Mclean. Class size is 24-26. She was put in 3rd grade for math and has learned a lot this year.

Until this year, she was in a private school where the class size was 16-18. We moved her because she was not challenged in math.

It's all about trade-offs!

[Anonymous]

Pyle Middle School in Bethesda - @30 kids per class. I've heard it's the largest middle school in Montgomery County - 2,500 kids. Whitman will be much smaller, in comparison!

[Anonymous]

Where can you look up class sizes in public schools zoned for your neighborhood? We live in Fairfax county, but our kids go to private. When we looked at our zoned public, all we could find online from the county was that the school goes from K-6, has 665 kids of which 443 are are on meal assistance, 145 were ESOL, and 112 were special ed.

[Anonymous]

Our private K has 2 sections, each one has 12 kids with 2 full-time teachers.

[Anonymous]

Two daughters - one at Catholic parochial with 30 and 1 teacher and other at DC public with 19 students 1 lead teacher/1 aide/1 special ed teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:3rd grade NWDC public: 18 with main teacher and student teacher.

^^ oops, and an aid shared for the grade.