Anonymous
Post 03/23/2022 17:36     Subject: How big is too big for a K class?
My son’s K Immersion class has 26 kids. He loves it. The teacher is on year 30 of teaching. Everything seems to be going fine. But overall, my son literally runs to school every day and is bummer that it’s closed on weekends. His happiness matters to me.
Anonymous
Post 03/23/2022 17:32     Subject: How big is too big for a K class?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Our DC is at an ES in silver spring, Focus school. Kindergarten class is 22, no para. The paras are generally used as substitute teachers since there are no subs. There was supposed to be regular help from an ESOL teacher but that fell by the wayside too. Teacher is experienced and doing the best she can though!


Focus schools cap K-2 at 18 kids. (Also in a SS Focus school)


I mean, I know how many kids are in DC’s class plus most of the other kindergarten classes. It’s a guideline, not a rule. Lots of parents seemed to have held their kids back last year when school was virtual (not that I blame them) so the incoming kindergarten class was bigger than normal.


I stand corrected!

And also grateful that when needed, our school has been able to hire more teachers to keep class sizes low. Having a Focus designation doesn't mean much without the resources to support the community.


The biggest limiting factor was lack of applicants. Who knew that you'd have fewer and fewer people interested in going into teaching when morale is so low and conditions are so difficult?


You know, there are many fields where demand outstrips supply. Teaching is one of them, but not the only one, and definitely not the only one in which a supply shortage has severe negative consequences .

*cough*mentalhealthprofessionals*cough*
Anonymous
Post 03/23/2022 17:29     Subject: How big is too big for a K class?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Our DC is at an ES in silver spring, Focus school. Kindergarten class is 22, no para. The paras are generally used as substitute teachers since there are no subs. There was supposed to be regular help from an ESOL teacher but that fell by the wayside too. Teacher is experienced and doing the best she can though!


Focus schools cap K-2 at 18 kids. (Also in a SS Focus school)


I mean, I know how many kids are in DC’s class plus most of the other kindergarten classes. It’s a guideline, not a rule. Lots of parents seemed to have held their kids back last year when school was virtual (not that I blame them) so the incoming kindergarten class was bigger than normal.


I stand corrected!

And also grateful that when needed, our school has been able to hire more teachers to keep class sizes low. Having a Focus designation doesn't mean much without the resources to support the community.


The biggest limiting factor was lack of applicants. Who knew that you'd have fewer and fewer people interested in going into teaching when morale is so low and conditions are so difficult?
Anonymous
Post 03/23/2022 17:20     Subject: How big is too big for a K class?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I didn't realize MCPS was allowing parents to hold their child back. Is that something you request at the school level with the principal?


No. It’s just that some kids with summer birthdays who would have gone on time didn’t. You can’t tell the principal you want to wait until your kid is seven to start kindergarten.


Red shirting has always been a thing especially in the wealthier parts of Montgomery county where families can afford an extra year of preschool and are prone to helicopter parenting worries.

I predicted back in 2020 that we were going to see a lot more redshirted kindergarteners in the 2021-22 year. My daughter's kinder cohort was originally 9 but then classes the school had to get rid of two kindergarten teachers due to declining enrollment and then this year they ended up with 9 classes of kindergarteners. I am really am glad we sucked it up and put my daughter in kindergarten in 2020 and now she's in a much smaller grade cohort
Anonymous
Post 03/23/2022 17:15     Subject: How big is too big for a K class?
I have worked in three districts and Montgomery county is the only School district where there isn't a dedicated classroom para educator assigned to a kindergarten class.

There are Paras that come in and work with kindergarten classes but they are not assigned to a single class to support the class all day. I think mcps should reconsider hiring more staff to help support kindergarten learners especially when the classes is so big.
Anonymous
Post 03/23/2022 17:12     Subject: How big is too big for a K class?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Our DC is at an ES in silver spring, Focus school. Kindergarten class is 22, no para. The paras are generally used as substitute teachers since there are no subs. There was supposed to be regular help from an ESOL teacher but that fell by the wayside too. Teacher is experienced and doing the best she can though!


Focus schools cap K-2 at 18 kids. (Also in a SS Focus school)


There is no "cap." There is only a guideline.


I work at a focus school and we qualified to get another teacher but there there were no teachers interested in taking the job.
Anonymous
Post 03/23/2022 10:32     Subject: How big is too big for a K class?
Anonymous wrote:I didn't realize MCPS was allowing parents to hold their child back. Is that something you request at the school level with the principal?


No. It’s just that some kids with summer birthdays who would have gone on time didn’t. You can’t tell the principal you want to wait until your kid is seven to start kindergarten.
Anonymous
Post 03/23/2022 10:31     Subject: How big is too big for a K class?
I didn't realize MCPS was allowing parents to hold their child back. Is that something you request at the school level with the principal?
Anonymous
Post 03/22/2022 12:59     Subject: How big is too big for a K class?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Our DC is at an ES in silver spring, Focus school. Kindergarten class is 22, no para. The paras are generally used as substitute teachers since there are no subs. There was supposed to be regular help from an ESOL teacher but that fell by the wayside too. Teacher is experienced and doing the best she can though!


Focus schools cap K-2 at 18 kids. (Also in a SS Focus school)


I mean, I know how many kids are in DC’s class plus most of the other kindergarten classes. It’s a guideline, not a rule. Lots of parents seemed to have held their kids back last year when school was virtual (not that I blame them) so the incoming kindergarten class was bigger than normal.


I stand corrected!

And also grateful that when needed, our school has been able to hire more teachers to keep class sizes low. Having a Focus designation doesn't mean much without the resources to support the community.
Anonymous
Post 03/22/2022 12:45     Subject: How big is too big for a K class?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Our DC is at an ES in silver spring, Focus school. Kindergarten class is 22, no para. The paras are generally used as substitute teachers since there are no subs. There was supposed to be regular help from an ESOL teacher but that fell by the wayside too. Teacher is experienced and doing the best she can though!


Focus schools cap K-2 at 18 kids. (Also in a SS Focus school)


I mean, I know how many kids are in DC’s class plus most of the other kindergarten classes. It’s a guideline, not a rule. Lots of parents seemed to have held their kids back last year when school was virtual (not that I blame them) so the incoming kindergarten class was bigger than normal.
Anonymous
Post 03/22/2022 12:21     Subject: How big is too big for a K class?
Anonymous wrote:What is the max? Is there a document someone can link to?


K–12 Budget Staffing Guidelines for Professional Staff—FY 2022:

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/departments/budget/fy2021/Appendix%20D_StaffGuidelines.pdf
Anonymous
Post 03/22/2022 12:18     Subject: How big is too big for a K class?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Our DC is at an ES in silver spring, Focus school. Kindergarten class is 22, no para. The paras are generally used as substitute teachers since there are no subs. There was supposed to be regular help from an ESOL teacher but that fell by the wayside too. Teacher is experienced and doing the best she can though!


Focus schools cap K-2 at 18 kids. (Also in a SS Focus school)


There is no "cap." There is only a guideline.
Anonymous
Post 03/22/2022 11:11     Subject: How big is too big for a K class?
Anonymous wrote:Our DC is at an ES in silver spring, Focus school. Kindergarten class is 22, no para. The paras are generally used as substitute teachers since there are no subs. There was supposed to be regular help from an ESOL teacher but that fell by the wayside too. Teacher is experienced and doing the best she can though!


Focus schools cap K-2 at 18 kids. (Also in a SS Focus school)
Anonymous
Post 03/22/2022 11:10     Subject: How big is too big for a K class?
Our DC is at an ES in silver spring, Focus school. Kindergarten class is 22, no para. The paras are generally used as substitute teachers since there are no subs. There was supposed to be regular help from an ESOL teacher but that fell by the wayside too. Teacher is experienced and doing the best she can though!
Anonymous
Post 03/22/2022 10:37     Subject: How big is too big for a K class?
What is the max? Is there a document someone can link to?