Are there ratio rules in MoCo? Our K said that they weren't sure if there was goign to be another K class added, it depended how many kids registered this summer -- sounded like they were near some threshold & i can't figure out what it was (didnt ask)

Folks, this is not rural Virginia in the 1960's and 1970's. Population is different now and the schools have not kept pace with that. The utopian class sizes you all remember in public schools are just not realistic unless the county invests more in the schools- BUILDING new schools. And, I don't care what Miss-We'll Squash It- Arlington has to say. Arlington is in the same boat and will be facing the same constraints in coming years.

Fairfax and other area schools are the tops in the country. The kids and teachers do fine with the class sizes as is. Is it ideal? No. But, for crying out loud, this is not a tragedy. Additionally, kids are not always going to be in situations with small, intimate attention. Better get used to it early.

Anonymous wrote:OP here again. I went to elementary school in Springfield VA and my class size no where near 28 students! I believe we had about 18-19 students in the class.

My daughter's n.arlington preschool has 19 kids. The most out of the 5 classes is 21 (she is the most popular teacher). I love the small size of the county and how receptive they are to parent/PTA demands. You actually feel like you have a voice. I do think 28 is crazy--ESP with just 1 teacher and 1 aide. I really think in the lower grades- size is very important. There was a push to raise our class size by 1 kid and it was world war 3 over here. That was voted down. Hopefully- my kids will be out of elementary school before it is out of hand. I can take larger HS classes, etc...it's what they'll have in college anyways.

OP here again. I went to elementary school in Springfield VA and my class size no where near 28 students! I believe we had about 18-19 students in the class.

Anonymous wrote:28 is not "outrageous". Good lord, what decade was it when you were in school???

OP here. I have to say that I was absolutely shocked at the number of students when I went to visit the school. I couldn't believe just how many children were in the class. The circle they formed for circle time was massive! I thought that the teacher did a great job handling the students though. I do feel like the students are a number and that they will get very little one on one attention. That really bothers me!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't think you could get a choice. If there are 27 kids, you have a class with 27 kids. Can you actually refuse a class for number?

It's a policy at our Arlington Elementary school not to go above 23 kids or they create a new class. My son's class has 21-- teacher, full-time aide and floating reading/lit teacher that pops in K classes. There are a few in the 19 kid range. We chose the school system for smaller class sizes. Our PTA, along with other Arlington elem. fought hard with the Board to prevent raising class size. It worked. A few new schools are slated to be built, a few additions at a couple schools and temporary trailers at a few particular schools as a temporary fix to keep the class sizes down.

Arlington will have a hard time maintaining class size at 23 in the next few years until they get schools built. We are talking growth in arlington county that just can't be solved by adding a few seats to classes. There is going to be boundary changes which will get parents all sort of bent out of shape.

Read arlnow.com today. We have squashed at each impasse. It will not happen. They have been talking boundary changes for the last couple of decades. It is a pro-active, very wealthy county that invests heavily in education. I am not worried. They would add an additional teacher classroom before that let ratios get as whack as some of the other counties--- but they are aggressively coming up with additions that will be done in a year or so and schools by 2016 should help current baby boom. They also have hired private investigator to get rid of the high number of false residency claims.

Ashlawn comes on line in 2014 with 225 seats, there definately not enough students w/in their boudaries to fill it. They are building a new elementary at Williamsburg, where do you think the kids are going to come from? Boundary changes, it's clear in all the poposals that there will some. Also, take a close look at the capacity numbers in 2012/2013/2014 at the already crowded schools, they have an issue before the schools come online.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't think you could get a choice. If there are 27 kids, you have a class with 27 kids. Can you actually refuse a class for number?

It's a policy at our Arlington Elementary school not to go above 23 kids or they create a new class. My son's class has 21-- teacher, full-time aide and floating reading/lit teacher that pops in K classes. There are a few in the 19 kid range. We chose the school system for smaller class sizes. Our PTA, along with other Arlington elem. fought hard with the Board to prevent raising class size. It worked. A few new schools are slated to be built, a few additions at a couple schools and temporary trailers at a few particular schools as a temporary fix to keep the class sizes down.

Arlington will have a hard time maintaining class size at 23 in the next few years until they get schools built. We are talking growth in arlington county that just can't be solved by adding a few seats to classes. There is going to be boundary changes which will get parents all sort of bent out of shape.

Read arlnow.com today. We have squashed at each impasse. It will not happen. They have been talking boundary changes for the last couple of decades. It is a pro-active, very wealthy county that invests heavily in education. I am not worried. They would add an additional teacher classroom before that let ratios get as whack as some of the other counties--- but they are aggressively coming up with additions that will be done in a year or so and schools by 2016 should help current baby boom. They also have hired private investigator to get rid of the high number of false residency claims.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't think you could get a choice. If there are 27 kids, you have a class with 27 kids. Can you actually refuse a class for number?

It's a policy at our Arlington Elementary school not to go above 23 kids or they create a new class. My son's class has 21-- teacher, full-time aide and floating reading/lit teacher that pops in K classes. There are a few in the 19 kid range. We chose the school system for smaller class sizes. Our PTA, along with other Arlington elem. fought hard with the Board to prevent raising class size. It worked. A few new schools are slated to be built, a few additions at a couple schools and temporary trailers at a few particular schools as a temporary fix to keep the class sizes down.

Arlington will have a hard time maintaining class size at 23 in the next few years until they get schools built. We are talking growth in arlington county that just can't be solved by adding a few seats to classes. There is going to be boundary changes which will get parents all sort of bent out of shape.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:28 is not "outrageous". Good lord, what decade was it when you were in school???

Not the PP but my K class was 1/2 that size in the 70s and not more than 25 in the older grades through the 80s.

I am the Pp- mine was also 1/2 the size in Fairfax County in the mid-70s. It was also only 1/2 day.

I think 28 kindergartners is too many-- which is why we chose the school/county.

Anonymous wrote:28 is not "outrageous". Good lord, what decade was it when you were in school???

It is now when K teachers are expected to teach all K students how to read by the end of the year. It isn't arts and crafts, storytime and naptime anymore.

it depends -
how many children with an IEP are in the class?
have you observed the teachers this year? what were your impressions?

Anonymous wrote:28 is not "outrageous". Good lord, what decade was it when you were in school???

Not the PP but my K class was 1/2 that size in the 70s and not more than 25 in the older grades through the 80s.

28 is not "outrageous". Good lord, what decade was it when you were in school???

Anonymous wrote:I didn't think you could get a choice. If there are 27 kids, you have a class with 27 kids. Can you actually refuse a class for number?

It's a policy at our Arlington Elementary school not to go above 23 kids or they create a new class. My son's class has 21-- teacher, full-time aide and floating reading/lit teacher that pops in K classes. There are a few in the 19 kid range. We chose the school system for smaller class sizes. Our PTA, along with other Arlington elem. fought hard with the Board to prevent raising class size. It worked. A few new schools are slated to be built, a few additions at a couple schools and temporary trailers at a few particular schools as a temporary fix to keep the class sizes down.

My daughter's kindergarten class had 27 with a teacher and a full-time instructional assistant. It was more orderly than her class this year which is 21 students with a teacher only.