Class Sizes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Middle School music. This week my largest class has ranged between 52 and 55. No para. No coteacher. Other schools in the county have a second adult in classes this large if the principal chooses. I heard every school had their allocations cut last February due to lower enrollment but now numbers are back up. Hoping MCPS adds in more allotments to principals can hire more staff and expand part time allocations to adjust class sizes. I heard from students that in some of their other classes there weren’t even enough desks for each student.

My child reported over 60 students in their middle school music class this week too.

PP, are you a MS music teacher? Beyond supporting our kids in signing up for these electives, is there anything else parents can do to support these positions? We ❤️ the arts!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:4th grade CES-26
2nd grade-18

Isn’t CES supposed to be at the cap, 28?

There is no cap. Unenforceable "guidelines."

But the PP is correct that CES classes are typically 28 students.

I'm not sure but my daughter was adamant that there are 26 people in her class...maybe they are awaiting responses on wait list offers. I'll update if it changes.

Back when they were HGCs, I'm pretty sure cap was 26.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Middle School music. This week my largest class has ranged between 52 and 55. No para. No coteacher. Other schools in the county have a second adult in classes this large if the principal chooses. I heard every school had their allocations cut last February due to lower enrollment but now numbers are back up. Hoping MCPS adds in more allotments to principals can hire more staff and expand part time allocations to adjust class sizes. I heard from students that in some of their other classes there weren’t even enough desks for each student.

My child reported over 60 students in their middle school music class this week too.

PP, are you a MS music teacher? Beyond supporting our kids in signing up for these electives, is there anything else parents can do to support these positions? We ❤️ the arts!

Yes, I am thinking of the amazing ms music teacher at TPMS. It's been a while since my kids were there, but she manages huge classes and invests so much.

[Anonymous]

Feeling very grateful for my jr's class sizes <18 in like 3-4 classes including AP Calc and Lang. Some amazing teachers too. We lucked out. Loving school so far (not an easy feat with an adhd kid).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Middle School music. This week my largest class has ranged between 52 and 55. No para. No coteacher. Other schools in the county have a second adult in classes this large if the principal chooses. I heard every school had their allocations cut last February due to lower enrollment but now numbers are back up. Hoping MCPS adds in more allotments to principals can hire more staff and expand part time allocations to adjust class sizes. I heard from students that in some of their other classes there weren’t even enough desks for each student.

My child reported over 60 students in their middle school music class this week too.

PP, are you a MS music teacher? Beyond supporting our kids in signing up for these electives, is there anything else parents can do to support these positions? We ❤️ the arts!

I am a MS music teacher. Advocate for at least a para in these large classes. Remind the PTA to check in on these teachers to make sure they have adequate supplies. Also advocate to the state to allow the unions to negotiate class sizes.

[Anonymous]

1st grade - 20. There are 3 other 1st grade classes and they are about the same size as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there somewhere I can find the maximum class sizes for elementary school? I tried searching the MCPS site but wasn't able to locate any info.

They aren't maximums, they're merely guidelines:

Classroom teacher positions for Grades K–5
are allocated based on enrollment projections
to Kindergarten using a class size guideline of
24, to Grades 1–2 using a class size guideline of
25, to Grade 3 using a class size guideline of 26,
and to Grades 4-5 using a class size guideline of
28. Additional classroom teacher positions are
provided to focus and Title I schools to Grades
K–2 using a class size guideline of 18, to Grade 3
using a class size guideline of 24, and to Grades
4-5 using a class size guideline of 26.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/departments/budget/FY2023_Appendix%20C_Pre-K-12%20Professional%20Staff%20%20Budget%20Staffing%20Guidelines(1).pdf

Also remember that those guidelines are averaged out over grade bands so it’s very common to have considerably more in one grade while less in the other. Schools don’t do combined 4/5s and such like they used to do.

[Anonymous]

What are the staffing allocation guidelines for paras? I always thought Focus and Title 1 schools had paras in the classroom K-2. This isn’t actually happening at my kid’s Title 1 school and we have already issues

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What are the staffing allocation guidelines for paras? I always thought Focus and Title 1 schools had paras in the classroom K-2. This isn’t actually happening at my kid’s Title 1 school and we have already issues

Great question. I have no idea and I've been a teacher in the county for over a decade.

Paras in dedicated classrooms almost never happens. Even when it does, paras will be pulled half of the day for lunch/recess coverage. There are dedicated paras in most self contained special education classrooms.