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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm picking the very first MCPS elementary school I see alphabetically:  Arcolo ES

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/02790.pdf

This says they have 732 students and a 10:1 student/instructional staff ratio.

So by the numbers they could pull off 10 kids per 1 class IF they had the space to do so.

If you closed middle schools and bussed half the kids there you'd have more space.

This is a huge school.  I see 7 classes per grade!   41 classroom teachers

There are also:  2 art teachers, 2 guidance counselors, 7 ESOL teachers, a media specialist and an assistant (not sure if that's a teacher position), 2 general music teachers and one instrumental music teacher; 2 PE teachers, a reading specialist, 5 special ed teachers, 2 speech teachers, 2 staff development teachers, 3 focus or remedial support teachers, about 6 para educators.

That's at least 71 teaching certified adults and another 6 paraeducators.   For 732 students.

So... I think it is somewhat possible to have 10 students per one adult.  A whole lot of teaching rules and regulations would need to be suspended temporarily, the special ed and speech IEP requirements being the first.  There's NO WAY school could happen business as usual.  But from a point of safety, groups of 10 or more likely 12 could happen.[/quote]

So babysitting, then. Paraeducators also aren’t allowed to teach students without a certified teacher present. They’re not even allowed to run a Zoom small group without a certified teacher sitting in. [/quote]

I'd pull the speech therapists and paraeducators out of those numbers.  For one thing, the PP is correct that they aren't teachers.  For another, they are there specifically for kids who need a high level of support, and in classes of 10 there are still going to be kids who need a high level of support.

So, 69 classes.  But I'd also assume that not every parent is going to choose to send their kid to school when there is a pandemic.  So, let's assume 10% don't (I think it might well be more, based on what I hear from other countries), so 660 kids, that's 66 classes of 10, plus 3 teachers, 6 paras, and 2 speech therapist providing support to the highest need kids, and other issues.

Or you could go to classes of 12 (10 is not a magic number), and free up the music, PE, and art teachers, who could teach classes, projected on the white board, or socially distanced from the front of the room.  It would be important to protect them so they aren't carrying germs from one group to the next, but there are probably ways.  Outdoor PE classes, teaching remotely, teaching from the stage in the multipurpose room.  Obviously no singing, or sharing instruments, but there are other music activities that could work.

Honestly, I think from an instructional point of view it would be OK.  Small classes would be nice.  [/quote]

Art, music and PE are also 1.5 allocations, not 2. Those teachers are only there on certain days.

Arcola is also a Title 1 school and receives the highest level of support available. Try this exercise with any non Title 1 school and see if it still works. [/quote]

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