We have approx. 455 kids in our school...
We have 4 kindergarten rooms of 21 each
We have 3 1st grade rooms of 22 each
We have 3 2nd grade rooms with 23 each
We have 3 3rd grade rooms with 24 each
We have 3 4th grade rooms with 24 each
We have 3 5th grade rooms of 24 each
Give or take..last year we have 4/5 combo classes...5 classrooms with 29 kids each..it was a madhouse..I hated it!
We also have a LARGE majority of ELL students..we are at almost 100 now..
We are a magnet school for ED students, so we have special ed aides as well as regular classroom aides. I think that each class through 3rd grade has a classroom aide with the exception of the 1/2 split.
Private, parochial school: maximum is 18 per class but my son has about 14 (1st) and my daughter has 16 (5th). Kindergarten classes currently have 12 each. Local public schools, though, are larger: about 26-27 in grades 2-5 and about 20 in K5 and 1st.
SHC
We try to stay at or below 20 in K-5 except 1st which is mandated to have 18 or less. I believe we average 17 in 1st and 19 in the others. 2 or 3 classes out of 25 have 21 students. Most of this is a direct cause of NCLB. 4 years ago, my son had 26 in his class-they had a para as well. Not that I am complaining about the smaller size but I have noticed that our school seems to spend a lot of time on those that are struggling and very little on expanding the minds of the children that aren't needing all of the attention. I find I am doing more to educate my children's minds even with the smaller classes, which were supposed to make things better, than I did before. I guess the grass is always greener.
The irony of commitment is that it’s deeply liberating-in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life. --Anne Morris
