Lafayette Over Crowding

[Anonymous]

The principal, the instructional superintendent and the Chancellor all need to hear from parents NOW to remedy this. I'm not a Lafayette family but I know that waiting until school is in session is NOT a good time to press for the resources needed. I'm at Stoddert and years ago, I remember when they added another K class...IN NOVEMBER! Which means kids had to be plucked from exisitng classrooms and sent to a new teacher. Not ideal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This note just went out from the principal.

Dear KDG and 5th Grade Parents –

You may have noticed that the class sizes in Kindergarten and 5th grade look a little larger than normal. Here’s why:

Kindergarten
This spring and summer, we have had an abundance of new in-boundary KDG students. In the last week alone we have received 4 new in-boundary kindergarten students!

Classes currently have 28 students per class, with a teacher and an instructional aide. Unfortunately, our enrollment is sitting in a “no man’s land” of sorts – enough kids that we have larger classes, but not quite enough kids to trigger the addition of a 6th class. We are sitting right on the cusp. DCPS and I are both monitoring our enrollment daily. If we continue to see students enroll in KDG, we will start discussing the process of adding an additional teacher. If our enrollment stays steady, there is a good chance we will stay where we are.

The next two weeks are critical – it is very important that any potentially new in-boundary KDG students enroll ASAP so we can plan accordingly. Stay tuned for more updates as our two weeks unfold.

5th Grade
At the end of last year, I worked with the 5th grade team to be sure that the schedule provided for equal instructional minutes in all classes for all subjects. I also heard you loud and clear – more Science!

Therefore, we moved to four 5th grade homerooms (2 teams of 2), and one 5th grade science teacher. The students will be on a "team" for ELA/Math/Soc Stu and then rotate to Science with Ms. DiRenzo for 45 mins every day.

The reduction in homerooms has caused a slight increase in number of students per class (26). The class size is still below average class size in other elementary schools.

Other Clarifications -
This year we have welcomed over 50 new in-boundary families. We are currently enrolled at 807 students.
While we have also welcomed two new special education classrooms, this addition is not related to the larger class sizes. The classrooms are capped at 10 students (grades K-2) and 12 students (grades 3-5). They are an incredible add to our community for which I am thankful to share with our students.
In-boundary families continue to move into our neighborhood and enroll. It is a great problem to have! This speaks to your incredible sense of community and the overall success of our school. If your neighbor hasn't yet enrolled, please send them our way!
Please don't worry. We are still three weeks away from the first day of school. I'm also confident in our amazing teachers and instructional aides. I'll keep you in the loop as I know more information.

Have a great rest of the week,
Dr. B

So, they had unexpected additional enrollment (blip years happen - families move, etc. One year, we had 5 international/state dept families enroll over the summer that no one could've really accounted for) and there is also a needed trigger point to get to the point of having the 6th classroom for K, which is beyond the principal's control, it is a public school required to accommodate any children in the cachement. And remember if you do open a 6th classroom, they will then open up slots for added OOB kids to 'fill' all the classes up, which then you will be carrying through 5th grade (and on to Deal). (Remember in this area, many MoCo and Arlington schools have 30 or more in K and early elems with no aides - so the overstatements about it being 'horrifying' are not going to help your case.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This note just went out from the principal.

Dear KDG and 5th Grade Parents –

You may have noticed that the class sizes in Kindergarten and 5th grade look a little larger than normal. Here’s why:

Kindergarten
This spring and summer, we have had an abundance of new in-boundary KDG students. In the last week alone we have received 4 new in-boundary kindergarten students!

Classes currently have 28 students per class, with a teacher and an instructional aide. Unfortunately, our enrollment is sitting in a “no man’s land” of sorts – enough kids that we have larger classes, but not quite enough kids to trigger the addition of a 6th class. We are sitting right on the cusp. DCPS and I are both monitoring our enrollment daily. If we continue to see students enroll in KDG, we will start discussing the process of adding an additional teacher. If our enrollment stays steady, there is a good chance we will stay where we are.

The next two weeks are critical – it is very important that any potentially new in-boundary KDG students enroll ASAP so we can plan accordingly. Stay tuned for more updates as our two weeks unfold.

5th Grade
At the end of last year, I worked with the 5th grade team to be sure that the schedule provided for equal instructional minutes in all classes for all subjects. I also heard you loud and clear – more Science!

Therefore, we moved to four 5th grade homerooms (2 teams of 2), and one 5th grade science teacher. The students will be on a "team" for ELA/Math/Soc Stu and then rotate to Science with Ms. DiRenzo for 45 mins every day.

The reduction in homerooms has caused a slight increase in number of students per class (26). The class size is still below average class size in other elementary schools.

Other Clarifications -
This year we have welcomed over 50 new in-boundary families. We are currently enrolled at 807 students.
While we have also welcomed two new special education classrooms, this addition is not related to the larger class sizes. The classrooms are capped at 10 students (grades K-2) and 12 students (grades 3-5). They are an incredible add to our community for which I am thankful to share with our students.
In-boundary families continue to move into our neighborhood and enroll. It is a great problem to have! This speaks to your incredible sense of community and the overall success of our school. If your neighbor hasn't yet enrolled, please send them our way!
Please don't worry. We are still three weeks away from the first day of school. I'm also confident in our amazing teachers and instructional aides. I'll keep you in the loop as I know more information.

Have a great rest of the week,
Dr. B

So, they had unexpected additional enrollment (blip years happen - families move, etc. One year, we had 5 international/state dept families enroll over the summer that no one could've really accounted for) and there is also a needed trigger point to get to the point of having the 6th classroom for K, which is beyond the principal's control, it is a public school required to accommodate any children in the cachement. And remember if you do open a 6th classroom, they will then open up slots for added OOB kids to 'fill' all the classes up, which then you will be carrying through 5th grade (and on to Deal). (Remember in this area, many MoCo and Arlington schools have 30 or more in K and early elems with no aides - so the overstatements about it being 'horrifying' are not going to help your case.)

That's not the case here. Just do the very simple math. 5 classrooms of 28. Take four children from 2 classes, and five children from the other 3 to fill a sixth class and you have class sizes of 23 or 24, which it absolutely reasonable for Kindergarten and should not require a single call to the waitlist. Besides, while the "filling up with OOB" argument is valid in some cases, I suspect that most families would take that possibility (especially at the K level) if it means smaller calss size.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This note just went out from the principal.

Dear KDG and 5th Grade Parents –

You may have noticed that the class sizes in Kindergarten and 5th grade look a little larger than normal. Here’s why:

Kindergarten
This spring and summer, we have had an abundance of new in-boundary KDG students. In the last week alone we have received 4 new in-boundary kindergarten students!

Classes currently have 28 students per class, with a teacher and an instructional aide. Unfortunately, our enrollment is sitting in a “no man’s land” of sorts – enough kids that we have larger classes, but not quite enough kids to trigger the addition of a 6th class. We are sitting right on the cusp. DCPS and I are both monitoring our enrollment daily. If we continue to see students enroll in KDG, we will start discussing the process of adding an additional teacher. If our enrollment stays steady, there is a good chance we will stay where we are.

The next two weeks are critical – it is very important that any potentially new in-boundary KDG students enroll ASAP so we can plan accordingly. Stay tuned for more updates as our two weeks unfold.

5th Grade
At the end of last year, I worked with the 5th grade team to be sure that the schedule provided for equal instructional minutes in all classes for all subjects. I also heard you loud and clear – more Science!

Therefore, we moved to four 5th grade homerooms (2 teams of 2), and one 5th grade science teacher. The students will be on a "team" for ELA/Math/Soc Stu and then rotate to Science with Ms. DiRenzo for 45 mins every day.

The reduction in homerooms has caused a slight increase in number of students per class (26). The class size is still below average class size in other elementary schools.

Other Clarifications -
This year we have welcomed over 50 new in-boundary families. We are currently enrolled at 807 students.
While we have also welcomed two new special education classrooms, this addition is not related to the larger class sizes. The classrooms are capped at 10 students (grades K-2) and 12 students (grades 3-5). They are an incredible add to our community for which I am thankful to share with our students.
In-boundary families continue to move into our neighborhood and enroll. It is a great problem to have! This speaks to your incredible sense of community and the overall success of our school. If your neighbor hasn't yet enrolled, please send them our way!
Please don't worry. We are still three weeks away from the first day of school. I'm also confident in our amazing teachers and instructional aides. I'll keep you in the loop as I know more information.

Have a great rest of the week,
Dr. B

So, they had unexpected additional enrollment (blip years happen - families move, etc. One year, we had 5 international/state dept families enroll over the summer that no one could've really accounted for) and there is also a needed trigger point to get to the point of having the 6th classroom for K, which is beyond the principal's control, it is a public school required to accommodate any children in the cachement. And remember if you do open a 6th classroom, they will then open up slots for added OOB kids to 'fill' all the classes up, which then you will be carrying through 5th grade (and on to Deal). (Remember in this area, many MoCo and Arlington schools have 30 or more in K and early elems with no aides - so the overstatements about it being 'horrifying' are not going to help your case.)

But this is the second year in a row with the "blip," so you can't really say it's unexpected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This note just went out from the principal.

Dear KDG and 5th Grade Parents –

You may have noticed that the class sizes in Kindergarten and 5th grade look a little larger than normal. Here’s why:

Kindergarten
This spring and summer, we have had an abundance of new in-boundary KDG students. In the last week alone we have received 4 new in-boundary kindergarten students!

Classes currently have 28 students per class, with a teacher and an instructional aide. Unfortunately, our enrollment is sitting in a “no man’s land” of sorts – enough kids that we have larger classes, but not quite enough kids to trigger the addition of a 6th class. We are sitting right on the cusp. DCPS and I are both monitoring our enrollment daily. If we continue to see students enroll in KDG, we will start discussing the process of adding an additional teacher. If our enrollment stays steady, there is a good chance we will stay where we are.

The next two weeks are critical – it is very important that any potentially new in-boundary KDG students enroll ASAP so we can plan accordingly. Stay tuned for more updates as our two weeks unfold.

5th Grade
At the end of last year, I worked with the 5th grade team to be sure that the schedule provided for equal instructional minutes in all classes for all subjects. I also heard you loud and clear – more Science!

Therefore, we moved to four 5th grade homerooms (2 teams of 2), and one 5th grade science teacher. The students will be on a "team" for ELA/Math/Soc Stu and then rotate to Science with Ms. DiRenzo for 45 mins every day.

The reduction in homerooms has caused a slight increase in number of students per class (26). The class size is still below average class size in other elementary schools.

Other Clarifications -
This year we have welcomed over 50 new in-boundary families. We are currently enrolled at 807 students.
While we have also welcomed two new special education classrooms, this addition is not related to the larger class sizes. The classrooms are capped at 10 students (grades K-2) and 12 students (grades 3-5). They are an incredible add to our community for which I am thankful to share with our students.
In-boundary families continue to move into our neighborhood and enroll. It is a great problem to have! This speaks to your incredible sense of community and the overall success of our school. If your neighbor hasn't yet enrolled, please send them our way!
Please don't worry. We are still three weeks away from the first day of school. I'm also confident in our amazing teachers and instructional aides. I'll keep you in the loop as I know more information.

Have a great rest of the week,
Dr. B

So, they had unexpected additional enrollment (blip years happen - families move, etc. One year, we had 5 international/state dept families enroll over the summer that no one could've really accounted for) and there is also a needed trigger point to get to the point of having the 6th classroom for K, which is beyond the principal's control, it is a public school required to accommodate any children in the cachement. And remember if you do open a 6th classroom, they will then open up slots for added OOB kids to 'fill' all the classes up, which then you will be carrying through 5th grade (and on to Deal). (Remember in this area, many MoCo and Arlington schools have 30 or more in K and early elems with no aides - so the overstatements about it being 'horrifying' are not going to help your case.)

That's not the case here. Just do the very simple math. 5 classrooms of 28. Take four children from 2 classes, and five children from the other 3 to fill a sixth class and you have class sizes of 23 or 24, which it absolutely reasonable for Kindergarten and should not require a single call to the waitlist. Besides, while the "filling up with OOB" argument is valid in some cases, I suspect that most families would take that possibility (especially at the K level) if it means smaller calss size.

The catch/rub is that DCPS pushes filling up to 25 or 26 per classroom (look across other JKLM/WOTP schools- where this has been our reality recently -- we had 10 OOBs added to the grade/cohort mix -- adding to class sizes of 26!)... so you could be giving up 28 to get to 26.

[Anonymous]

People, there are 6 1st classes anyways! Makes sense to have 6 K's this year instead of packing them in this year just to have them all spread out next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This note just went out from the principal.

Dear KDG and 5th Grade Parents –

You may have noticed that the class sizes in Kindergarten and 5th grade look a little larger than normal. Here’s why:

Kindergarten
This spring and summer, we have had an abundance of new in-boundary KDG students. In the last week alone we have received 4 new in-boundary kindergarten students!

Classes currently have 28 students per class, with a teacher and an instructional aide. Unfortunately, our enrollment is sitting in a “no man’s land” of sorts – enough kids that we have larger classes, but not quite enough kids to trigger the addition of a 6th class. We are sitting right on the cusp. DCPS and I are both monitoring our enrollment daily. If we continue to see students enroll in KDG, we will start discussing the process of adding an additional teacher. If our enrollment stays steady, there is a good chance we will stay where we are.

The next two weeks are critical – it is very important that any potentially new in-boundary KDG students enroll ASAP so we can plan accordingly. Stay tuned for more updates as our two weeks unfold.

5th Grade
At the end of last year, I worked with the 5th grade team to be sure that the schedule provided for equal instructional minutes in all classes for all subjects. I also heard you loud and clear – more Science!

Therefore, we moved to four 5th grade homerooms (2 teams of 2), and one 5th grade science teacher. The students will be on a "team" for ELA/Math/Soc Stu and then rotate to Science with Ms. DiRenzo for 45 mins every day.

The reduction in homerooms has caused a slight increase in number of students per class (26). The class size is still below average class size in other elementary schools.

Other Clarifications -
This year we have welcomed over 50 new in-boundary families. We are currently enrolled at 807 students.
While we have also welcomed two new special education classrooms, this addition is not related to the larger class sizes. The classrooms are capped at 10 students (grades K-2) and 12 students (grades 3-5). They are an incredible add to our community for which I am thankful to share with our students.
In-boundary families continue to move into our neighborhood and enroll. It is a great problem to have! This speaks to your incredible sense of community and the overall success of our school. If your neighbor hasn't yet enrolled, please send them our way!
Please don't worry. We are still three weeks away from the first day of school. I'm also confident in our amazing teachers and instructional aides. I'll keep you in the loop as I know more information.

Have a great rest of the week,
Dr. B

So, they had unexpected additional enrollment (blip years happen - families move, etc. One year, we had 5 international/state dept families enroll over the summer that no one could've really accounted for) and there is also a needed trigger point to get to the point of having the 6th classroom for K, which is beyond the principal's control, it is a public school required to accommodate any children in the cachement. And remember if you do open a 6th classroom, they will then open up slots for added OOB kids to 'fill' all the classes up, which then you will be carrying through 5th grade (and on to Deal). (Remember in this area, many MoCo and Arlington schools have 30 or more in K and early elems with no aides - so the overstatements about it being 'horrifying' are not going to help your case.)

That's not the case here. Just do the very simple math. 5 classrooms of 28. Take four children from 2 classes, and five children from the other 3 to fill a sixth class and you have class sizes of 23 or 24, which it absolutely reasonable for Kindergarten and should not require a single call to the waitlist. Besides, while the "filling up with OOB" argument is valid in some cases, I suspect that most families would take that possibility (especially at the K level) if it means smaller calss size.

The catch/rub is that DCPS pushes filling up to 25 or 26 per classroom (look across other JKLM/WOTP schools- where this has been our reality recently -- we had 10 OOBs added to the grade/cohort mix -- adding to class sizes of 26!)... so you could be giving up 28 to get to 26.

Again, I understand the argument, I just don't buy it for this case. At our WotP school the principal did not add any from the waitlist last year and we had K and 1st grade classes with fewer than 25 each. I sat on LSAT for 3 years and PTA exec for five and I am familiar with supposed pressure from downtown. Lafayette simply has to have a principal that knows how to push back and prioritize the students and teachers over her desire for more administrative leadership help. As others have noted the classes are already at 28 each NOW...there will surely be more inboundary children who enroll this month and next. The principal needs to be solving this problem now rather than the faux hand wringing and claims that her hands are tied. please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This note just went out from the principal.

Dear KDG and 5th Grade Parents –

You may have noticed that the class sizes in Kindergarten and 5th grade look a little larger than normal. Here’s why:

Kindergarten
This spring and summer, we have had an abundance of new in-boundary KDG students. In the last week alone we have received 4 new in-boundary kindergarten students!

Classes currently have 28 students per class, with a teacher and an instructional aide. Unfortunately, our enrollment is sitting in a “no man’s land” of sorts – enough kids that we have larger classes, but not quite enough kids to trigger the addition of a 6th class. We are sitting right on the cusp. DCPS and I are both monitoring our enrollment daily. If we continue to see students enroll in KDG, we will start discussing the process of adding an additional teacher. If our enrollment stays steady, there is a good chance we will stay where we are.

The next two weeks are critical – it is very important that any potentially new in-boundary KDG students enroll ASAP so we can plan accordingly. Stay tuned for more updates as our two weeks unfold.

5th Grade
At the end of last year, I worked with the 5th grade team to be sure that the schedule provided for equal instructional minutes in all classes for all subjects. I also heard you loud and clear – more Science!

Therefore, we moved to four 5th grade homerooms (2 teams of 2), and one 5th grade science teacher. The students will be on a "team" for ELA/Math/Soc Stu and then rotate to Science with Ms. DiRenzo for 45 mins every day.

The reduction in homerooms has caused a slight increase in number of students per class (26). The class size is still below average class size in other elementary schools.

Other Clarifications -
This year we have welcomed over 50 new in-boundary families. We are currently enrolled at 807 students.
While we have also welcomed two new special education classrooms, this addition is not related to the larger class sizes. The classrooms are capped at 10 students (grades K-2) and 12 students (grades 3-5). They are an incredible add to our community for which I am thankful to share with our students.
In-boundary families continue to move into our neighborhood and enroll. It is a great problem to have! This speaks to your incredible sense of community and the overall success of our school. If your neighbor hasn't yet enrolled, please send them our way!
Please don't worry. We are still three weeks away from the first day of school. I'm also confident in our amazing teachers and instructional aides. I'll keep you in the loop as I know more information.

Have a great rest of the week,
Dr. B

So, they had unexpected additional enrollment (blip years happen - families move, etc. One year, we had 5 international/state dept families enroll over the summer that no one could've really accounted for) and there is also a needed trigger point to get to the point of having the 6th classroom for K, which is beyond the principal's control, it is a public school required to accommodate any children in the cachement. And remember if you do open a 6th classroom, they will then open up slots for added OOB kids to 'fill' all the classes up, which then you will be carrying through 5th grade (and on to Deal). (Remember in this area, many MoCo and Arlington schools have 30 or more in K and early elems with no aides - so the overstatements about it being 'horrifying' are not going to help your case.)

That's not the case here. Just do the very simple math. 5 classrooms of 28. Take four children from 2 classes, and five children from the other 3 to fill a sixth class and you have class sizes of 23 or 24, which it absolutely reasonable for Kindergarten and should not require a single call to the waitlist. Besides, while the "filling up with OOB" argument is valid in some cases, I suspect that most families would take that possibility (especially at the K level) if it means smaller calss size.

The catch/rub is that DCPS pushes filling up to 25 or 26 per classroom (look across other JKLM/WOTP schools- where this has been our reality recently -- we had 10 OOBs added to the grade/cohort mix -- adding to class sizes of 26!)... so you could be giving up 28 to get to 26.

That hasn't happened with any other grade. 2nd grade has 5 classes of 22 and 3rd grade has 5 classes of 23.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Again, I understand the argument, I just don't buy it for this case. At our WotP school the principal did not add any from the waitlist last year and we had K and 1st grade classes with fewer than 25 each. I sat on LSAT for 3 years and PTA exec for five and I am familiar with supposed pressure from downtown. Lafayette simply has to have a principal that knows how to push back and prioritize the students and teachers over her desire for more administrative leadership help. As others have noted the classes are already at 28 each NOW...there will surely be more inboundary children who enroll this month and next. The principal needs to be solving this problem now rather than the faux hand wringing and claims that her hands are tied. please.

At my JKLM they did go to the wait list for this year to fill up the classes.... so I would just wait until your school's class lists come out *this year* to see if that still holds true. I am hoping you are correct. I think we might be at the same school.

[Anonymous]

Posted to the CCDC list serv:

Neighbors,

If you are a family planning to send your child to Lafayette who hasn't enrolled yet, this is a note to encourage you to get your enrollment paperwork in right way. Classroom assignments have already been made, and teachers are preparing to welcome new classes in just a couple weeks so we want to make sure your child is accounted for. This is especially important for incoming kindergarteners, since Lafayette is right on the cusp of being granted another kindergarten teacher based on enrollment. Acting quickly could help get another teacher and result in lower class sizes.

Here is a link to the full packet of the papers you need to bring in.
https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/publication/attachments/SY%2017-18%20Full%20Enrollment%20Packet%20Medical%20Docs%20Disclosures.pdf https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/publication/attachments/SY%2017-18%20Full%20Enrollment%20Packet%20Medical%20Docs%20Disclosures.pdf

Please don't hesitate to reach out to me or the front office at 202-282-0116 if you need help or have any questions.

Thanks and welcome to Lafayette!

[Anonymous]

How many more K enrollments do you think they need to open up another class?

[Anonymous]

Who knows. But people will move in half way through the year and then our kids are going to get shoved into another class in winter. What can we do to help?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who knows. But people will move in half way through the year and then our kids are going to get shoved into another class in winter. What can we do to help?

Nah, no one is going to make a new class in the middle of the year. They'll just be too big.

Ask Dr. B and her instructional superintendent why 140 kids was enough for 6 sections of K last year, but not this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who knows. But people will move in half way through the year and then our kids are going to get shoved into another class in winter. What can we do to help?

Nah, no one is going to make a new class in the middle of the year. They'll just be too big.

Ask Dr. B and her instructional superintendent why 140 kids was enough for 6 sections of K last year, but not this year.

Well that's easy-- because DCPS underestimated (again). They estimate XX kids, and if more sign up after the estimate date, you are SOL. The difference between this year and last is that the principal had a better idea of the of over-enrollment figures, because a lot were people coming over from Murch etc. alongside boundary changes. This year it sounds like it all happened in the last few weeks.

[Anonymous]

Maybe they are raising class sizes to get a third Assistant Principal?