Prairieview parents fight for smaller class sizes

By now, Joyce McNeill nearly has the speech memorized.

"Help our first-graders," the Bartlett mother of four has pleaded at five consecutive Elgin Area School District U-46 board meetings. "With such large class sizes, their early learning years are being compromised."

Prairieview Elementary School in Bartlett, where McNeill's children attend, features two first-grade classes this year with 29 and 30 students apiece.

While those numbers are still within an acceptable range by district standards, Prairieview parents feel the classes are too large to adequately teach reading skills.

Students will not take U-46's Measure of Academic Progress test until second grade, or the Illinois Standards Achievement Test until third grade.

Still, Prairieview parents say, other measures indicate that the school's first-graders are in danger of falling behind.

Like McNeill, Amy Morrissey also has two children at Prairieview.

Her older daughter, a third-grader, is in a class of just 22 students. Her younger daughter, a first-grader, is one of 30.

"We have the benefit of seeing how well these kids are doing with the smaller class sizes as opposed to the larger class sizes," Morrissey said. "When my third-grader comes home, her homework is done in 10 minutes. The first-grader, it's an hour."

Morrissey, a stay-at-home mom, says she doesn't mind spending the extra time helping her first-grader catch up in reading.

"But for those parents not able to dedicate an hour after school, that's where our district is failing us," she said. "They're going to have to hire outside tutors."

Last week, Prairieview parents began volunteer tutoring sessions with first-graders who need reading help.

Those students are pulled out of class twice a week for half-hour sessions.

Following a program put together by Prairieview's teachers, parents help students take part in four different reading activities over the course of an hour.

"We're happy to participate but we're not teachers," Dziengel said.

According to 2008 state report cards, the average first grade class size in U-46 last year was 22.9 students. The state average was 21 students.

According to an enrollment count taken Dec. 4, 23 students occupy an average general education first-grade class in U-46.

By state law, school districts must offer bilingual instruction in a child's first language when 20 or more students in one school represent that language.

By town, schools in Bartlett and Carol Stream feature the largest average general education first-grade class sizes, with about 27 students apiece. Schools in these towns also feature the lowest number of classes for English language learners.

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

The agreement, approved last January, mandates a teaching assistant for all elementary classes with more than 30 students. It also established a class size/caseload 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 and establish a process for accurately collecting classroom and caseload data.

Research, union President Tim Davis said, is partially completed.

"There are so many layers to the onion," Davis said Thursday of class sizes in U-46. "There's no doubt that having lower class sizes particularly in the early childhood grades can make a significant difference ... At what point do you hit a class size when the effectiveness of instruction is significantly diminished? So many variables can influence that."

"Hard caps" on class sizes, Davis said, are likely not the answer. "We have yet to find a district where the hard cap has been effective."

Still, several districts surrounding U-46, including Carpentersville-based Community District 300, St. Charles District 303 and Carol Stream School District 93 and West Chicago Elementary District 33, first-grade class sizes all average lower than U-46.

Among other early childhood education improvements, Superintendent Jose Torres said he is looking at lowering class sizes in first through third grades.

"I'm going to look at things I know will help with the right teacher in those classes," he said. "And yet, I was in a two-hour budget meeting this morning. There's some tension."

It's clear, Torres said, that parents and teachers are concerned about class sizes. "I don't believe in ignoring it," he said. "If class sizes become a high priority, I will move them to the degree I can."

Facing a tough budget year, Torres said he is looking at a number of different ways to help struggling learners. "What about more reading specialists? ... We might be able to do something in that arena rather than bringing five more teachers in to lower class sizes."

As district officials begin to plan for the 2009-10 budget, Prairieview parents say they plan to keep speaking out at board meetings, "to stay in front of them with this reading thing all the way through."

"We want a plan," Dziengel said. "I may not be able to change this for my first-grader, but I've got a 4-year-old coming to school next year. A little bit of progress would be wonderful."

Class sizes in U-46

Here is a look at how class sizes match up in general education first grade in U-46 schools. The district average for first grade is 22.87 students.

School 1st grade classes Avg. class size

Bartlett 3 23.3

Centennial 3 25.3

Century Oaks 2 27

Channing 1 19

Clinton 3 20

Coleman 2 24

Creekside 2 24

Fox Meadow 4 27.5

Garfield 1 18

Glenbrook 2 25.5

Hanover Countryside 3 19.6

Gifford 2 24.5

Hawk Hollow 3 23

Heritage 2 22

Highland 1 30

Hillcrest 2 21

Hilltop 3 27

Horizon 3 18.7

Huff 1 18

Laurel Hill 1 18

Liberty 1 26

Lincoln 2 28.5

Lords Park 2 23

Lowrie 1 20

McKinley 1 20

Nature Ridge 3 27.3

Oakhill 2 21

Ontarioville 1 14

Otter Creek 2 20.5

Parkwood 1 27

Prairieview 2 29.5

Ridge Circle 2 21

Sheridan 1 24

Spring Trail 3 27

Sunnydale 1 22

Sycamore 2 26.5

Trails

Timber Trails 3 20.3

Washington 2 19.5

Wayne 3 22.6

Willard 2 19.5

Source: U-46 enrollment count, taken Dec. 4, 2008