It might be different for K, but our middle school kids have had several classes with two teachers and it's definitely not the same as being in a small class - a lot of times the second teacher is primarily to help ESL kids, or one teacher is much better than the other. And usually the main lecture is for everyone by one teacher, and there's a fair amount of chaos in the class. We have preferred having one teacher with good classroom management skills. But it could be different for kindergarten which maybe has more 1 on 1 or divides into 2 groups for lessons?

Anonymous wrote:Local "good" public expects 20 kids in a K class.. one teacher. Private would have 25 kids but two full-time teachers. We had been leaning towards private due to class size and having just one teacher with occasional para assistance. But recently learned the public has been keeping numbers in very low 20s.
Thoughts?

Our private had way less than 25 with 2 teachers.

Depends on the teacher. I suspect most K teachers would like another adult dedicated to their class when the size is 20 or more. That said, I feel like K/1 is about teacher’s experience, classroom management, and genuine love for tiny people and personalities.

20 kids for one teacher. Two teachers in one class sounds like they have a need for co-taught / supported classes such as special education or behavior issues in the private school so it’s probably not as great as you thinks whereas in public kindergarten you will have paras, ELD and potentially other types of staff helping at times in the day

It all depends on the teacher.

My kids (3) all did “good” mcps for k with this type of size. By 2nd grade I yearned for private for all. Couldn’t afford it for all til middle school. You can save at least a little bit by doing public k

25 kids and two teachers is a way better ratio. But maybe I’m biased because DC’s kinder class had a similar ratio

Local "good" public expects 20 kids in a K class.. one teacher. Private would have 25 kids but two full-time teachers. We had been leaning towards private due to class size and having just one teacher with occasional para assistance. But recently learned the public has been keeping numbers in very low 20s.
Thoughts?