Do any schools actually have *small* K, 1, 2 class size?

[Anonymous]

I'd like to know about Norwood too, answer to 8:55 am poster.

[Anonymous]

I thought that Norwood has 2 full time teachers in the classroom (homeroom) always with the 16 - 18 kids, and then when they break into smaller groups say 8 - 10 for reading, art, etc it is with one teacher? Are they ever in a group of more than 18 and if so how many? Like PE or recess for example? Is there anyone out there who can provide information? My impression was that they spend a good amount of time in homeroom with 2 full time teachers and not a roving aid?

Yes, this is true - 2 full time teachers with the 16-18 kids in K. Break out groups, size already mentioned, are with one teacher. They are in PE groups that are homeroom sized and are out as a whole grade for recess. There are no teacher aides at Norwood. The idea of heterogeneous larger groups and smaller specialized groups throughout the day that a previous poster wrote about is a healthy educational program.

[Anonymous]

Maret has two first grade classes with 12-14 students and one teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I thought that Norwood has 2 full time teachers in the classroom (homeroom) always with the 16 - 18 kids, and then when they break into smaller groups say 8 - 10 for reading, art, etc it is with one teacher? Are they ever in a group of more than 18 and if so how many? Like PE or recess for example? Is there anyone out there who can provide information? My impression was that they spend a good amount of time in homeroom with 2 full time teachers and not a roving aid?

Yes, this is true - 2 full time teachers with the 16-18 kids in K. Break out groups, size already mentioned, are with one teacher. They are in PE groups that are homeroom sized and are out as a whole grade for recess. There are no teacher aides at Norwood. The idea of heterogeneous larger groups and smaller specialized groups throughout the day that a previous poster wrote about is a healthy educational program.

Did the pp say that the smaller groups are healthy or small class size? The article said small class size...I think.

[Anonymous]

Based on the article, I wonder why Montessori is so popular and effective?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Based on the article, I wonder why Montessori is so popular and effective?

That's a very interesting point. Interested to hear if anyone has any insight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Based on the article, I wonder why Montessori is so popular and effective?

I have wondered about that too since they have large classes. The only thing that I can think of is in the case of direct instruction (as in most conventional schools), the smaller classes matter. Montessori is not direct instruction.

[Anonymous]

http://eric.ed.gov:80/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/1a/0a/0a.pdf

This may answer some questions about Montessori and other approaches from Europe (e.g., Waldorf).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jewish Primary Day School (JPDS) has 18 per class in kindergarten.

Any aides?

[Anonymous]

GDS 1st grade class has 24 students, two teachers. 24 isn't feeling like "small class size," although 12:1 is not a terrible ratio.

Some subjects are taught in sub-groups of kids, but others are not. And it's not just PE that's taught in the 24-strong "homeroom."