Anonymous wrote:And yet, I've had to go and argue against $2 million and $5 million cuts. 2% is a pretty large chunk of change for them.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/fairfax-county-school-board-often-has-millions-in-extra-cash-to-spend/2013/08/23/9a6a1c5e-fa06-11e2-9bde-7ddaa186b751_story_1.html

Yes, but think of the uproar if they came in over budget. They aim to come in under.

DH and I do the same thing with our budget.

We live in Loudoun Co. and are strongly considering private school. We might be able to do public elementary if we opt for our neighborhood school which has small class sizes. However, for middle and high we are definitely considering private. I just don't want to send our kids to a "mega-school" with thousands of other students. I would prefer they be at a much smaller school where they don't get lost in the crowds.

And yet, I've had to go and argue against $2 million and $5 million cuts. 2% is a pretty large chunk of change for them.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/fairfax-county-school-board-often-has-millions-in-extra-cash-to-spend/2013/08/23/9a6a1c5e-fa06-11e2-9bde-7ddaa186b751_story_1.html

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone else annoyed that FCPS had $55 million extra this past year but we still are seeing huge class sizes?

No, $50 million is only ~2% of the budget. They try to come in just under budget so there is some wiggle room if something unexpected happens. Prudent budgeting.

Is anyone else annoyed that FCPS had $55 million extra this past year but we still are seeing huge class sizes?

I wouldn't want to discredit smaller class sizes just because perhaps a curriculum or a great teacher is equal or more important. Engaging students and keeping teachers and students motivated to learn from each other takes multiple efforts which may include reduced class sizes.

One year isn't going to change a whole lot if your eventual plan is to put your child in public school. Perhaps you need to think bigger than just this one year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$25K? No. But I am going to send my child to private K at his current preschool to the tune of $8k. He will then move on to our neighborhood elementary FCPS.

Our plan.

Can pps elaborate on why they feel the extra one year in private will make a difference before going to public school 1st grade? I'm also considering the same; however I can't exactly articulate why I feel it's so important to DH.

PP - I agree with you wholeheartedly with the exception of not paying for private elementary. I think for K-1, it doesn't matter. However, for 2-5, it does. If your child is average and apt to get lost in the shuffle (as your argument states), paying for the opportunity for that child to get the attention and individuation that s/he deserves is worth every penny. By the time they get to high school, kids already have a good idea of what kind of student they are and how they fit in amongst their peers. If I can keep my average kid from thinking he's just average and that nobody gives a damn about what he's doing (i.e. doing enough to pass is ok), then private school tuition is money well spent.

Yes, I have " heard and read" both sides of this argument but I have to say as a long- time parent volunteer I do think class size matters. And, I tell you where I think it matters...the kids in the middle. Top kids get pull- out or at the centers. Even if the centers are crowded those kids want to learn and do the work. The bottom kids get pulled out for remedial services. I have been in the room for years. Now finally out of elementary this year for all of mine. I don't know what the answer is - well ,money I guess. The studies can say all they want but every teacher my three kids had told me that the classes were large and they wish they were smaller. one or two also said that each year the classes get bigger yet they have to do much more testing, pull- out, paperwork on the bottom half. I had kids in all three so no ax to grind at any level. However, it was my middle one who got the least attention. He was lucky because we provided things at home. Anyway, we are moving on but I am a practical person and to me it is just common sense that smaller class size has an impact on learning. Study or no study! Do the best you can with what your school offers but don't pay 25k for elementary. Save it for high school if you need to.

Private not an option for us, but we did make a decision to start our middle and youngest (next Fall) at our neighborhood school, after opting out for our oldest. Our oldest has never been in a class of under 25, and the past few years he has been at 29-30. (AAP 4th this year). Ds2 is in K this year, in a class of 16, and yes, it is a Title 1 school. His sister will follow him next Fall. Having had direct experience at both schools with large class size and small, we have found a much higher degree of differentiation at the school with smaller class size.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Class size has no correlation to student achievment, FYI.

This is dead wrong. Do a little bit of research before making such a claim.

http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/cheri/upload/cheri_wp136.pdf

I've done plenty of research. The empirical research shows time and time again teaching methods matter, not class size, and that teachers generally don't change their methods based on class size. So proud that you can Google, but you skipped the more relevant literature.

There are some exceptions when lower income populations are involved, but that's not relevant to FCPS.

You're the one who's dead wrong. Don't chime in when you're ignorant of the facts.

Here's one meta analysis: http://qje.oxfordjournals.org/content/115/4/1239.short. Right in the abstract (since I know you wouldn't understand the report itself): "The estimates indicate that class size does not have a statistically significant effect on student achievement."

Or maybe you prefer: http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ431933&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ431933 Abstract: "Reduced class size may improve school tone and morale, but it is not an adequate policy alone for significantly accelerating student achievement"

Dutch study points out research from educators is different from that of economists: http://www1.fee.uva.nl/scholar/wp/wp04-99.pdf

I agree.

A rather comprehensive synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to student achievement was published in 2009 by John Hattie (search Visible Learning). It clearly shows that class size does not have a significant effect on student achievement whereas factors like prior achievement and feedback seem to be truly consequential in that regard.

This is a little off topic, but since I'm the OP, I guess it's o.k.

For those of you who do "home school" enrichment or fulltime, how do you avoid complete rebellion with your child/ren? How do you get through the power struggles and get the learning done quickly so that you have free time?

Buy a homeschooling curriculum and spend 30 minutes a day teaching them on your own. We've been doing this with our kids and they are both several grade levels above the norm in reading and math.