Class size an issue, again, in U-46

Teachers and parents have vented about large class sizes at back-to-back September Elgin Area School District U-46 board meetings.

"It's the biggest issue we have and it's across the board," Timber Trails Elementary teacher Christy Whitney said Sept. 8.

Whitney, who spoke to the board about the problem last year, has a class of 30 first-graders for the 2008-09 school year.

"The talk that we got when (teachers) returned was how important it is to have a strong foundation. We're teaching reading in first grade. We can't do that with 30 and 32 students," she said.

While a hard cap on class sizes might not be the answer, she urged the board to "figure this out."

According to an enrollment count taken last Thursday, 21 U-46 elementary classrooms have 30 or more students in them.

The largest class, according to the data, is a 35-student fifth-grade class at Channing Elementary.

Second largest is a fourth-grade class at Laurel Hill Elementary in Hanover Park, with 33 students.

In addition, Bartlett, Fox Meadow, Highland, Hillcrest, Lincoln, Lowrie, McKinley, Otter Creek, Prairieview, Sheridan and Timber Trails all feature at least one class of 30 or more students. Eight of those 13 schools also feature mobile classrooms.

Class sizes in the district's middle and high schools are murkier, with no numbers for the school year currently available, according to U-46 spokesman Tony Sanders.

Class sizes and case loads were two of the biggest sticking points in teacher contract negotiations last fall.

The agreement, approved in January, mandates a teaching assistant for all elementary classes with more than 30 students.

It also established a class size/case load task force to look at the issue within and outside the district.

According to terms of the contract, the task force is to complete a comparative study of state, national and district guidelines by early October.

It must also establish a process for accurately collecting classroom and caseload data.

At the high school level, Elgin Teachers Association President Tim Davis said, it's often difficult to get accurate class-size information. Lab classes with two teachers, he said, can sometimes be counted differently at different schools.

Some high school classes are without question too large, Davis said, with several physical education classes teaching nearly 50 students at once.

"It's difficult to do a lot with a class this size," he said. "You compromise the ability to instruct the students."

Davis said the intent of the task force is to make sure the district produces accurate data.

Davis called class size, at root, "an economic issue. I think the district would like to hire more teachers, but that's not the only thing pulling on the budget," he said.