Reply to Big proposed class size increases for Title 1 and focus schools next year

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Reply to "Big proposed class size increases for Title 1 and focus schools next year"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Haven't you noticed everything is going to the richer schools and this is going to have a terrible impact on the rest.  This is why reducing farms rates at some schools is a bad idea as its less funding.

Its often kids with special needs don't get the help they deserve.  THis isn't anything new.

And, with the reduction of students at the HS level, and the reduction of staff because of that, the divide is going to be greater.

The BOE is doing this to make their schools better.  Who knows where Taylor's kids go to school but he is really out of touch with what's going on outside the W schools.[/quote]

I don’t think that’s fair to say “everything is going to the richer schools.” The ES class size guidelines are 28/29 for non-Focus schools and since they’re just guidelines, it’s not uncommon there are ES classes with 32 kids in them.

I’m sure if MCPS could have increased class sizes for non-Focus schools they would have. But it’s hard to fit more than 30 desks in a classroom and still be able to walk. Ask me how I know.  [/quote]

No, they are literally proposing improving class sizes for richer schools while worsening them for poorer schools.  (So it's not a "if they could have increased class sizes for richer schools they would have" situation-- they certainly could have chosen to leave the richer schools as-is but instead are choosing to invest in bringing down class sizes there.)  It's all spelled out in black and white.  Schools with high FARMS rates will have higher class sizes than they do now, while schools with low FARMS rates will have lower class sizes than they do now.

I don't mean to be anti-rich schools.  I do think that the class sizes at the richer schools are too big, and I think class sizes should be decreased at all the elementary schools in the county, both rich, poor, and in-between.  But I also think it's just totally unacceptable to make those improvements for the richer schools on the back of the kids at the poorer schools.  (Like, it would be bad enough if they only invested in improving class sizes at richer schools and left the poorer schools alone.  But they are [b]actively making things significantly worse[/b] for the youngest, poorest kids in MCPS in order to improve class sizes at the richer schools.  That's just not okay.) [/quote]

This can't be real, can it?  I can't imagine they would actually plan to implement changes that are this short-sighted, inequitable, and terrible, or that the Board of Ed would let them get away with it. "Let's take teachers away from poor 5 and 6 year olds and give them to the richer schools instead?"

My guess is that this is just something else for us to yell about to distract people from advocating against some of the other changes Taylor is trying to make, plus give the illusion that the Board of Ed has independence and pushes back on MCPS... and that it will either end up being rolled back entirely, or maybe that they'll "compromise" by only increasing class sizes for the poorest schools by 1-2 kids rather than 3-4 kids and we'll all be expected to be grateful.[/quote]

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