10 12 06
To: The Facilities Committee - Karen C., Jon K., Bruce T., Tin P.,
Colline D., Ken D., Ron P., Katie C., Jason H., Chuck J, Tim A.
Fron: Betty Tatro
10/12/06
Re: responses to board questions about modular classrooms and staff request for
school year 2007-08
Hello all,
This is my response to two questions / comments from the school board meeting
held on Tuesday - October 10, 2006
Could we go with aides instead of additional teachers and modular classrooms ?
The short answer is yes. But for the following reasons are why it is not
advisable:
- 25 to 26 students in a
classroom with one teacher and one para professional is not an acceptable
ratio in K-3 classrooms - the only time I would do such a thing would be as a
responce to an unanticipated influx of students - that is not the case in this
situation
- the background and
training of the staff working with students is important (we strive to hire the
most highly qualified para-professionals) however the guidelines only require
that the person hired as a para-professional have a high school diploma
- assigning 25 - 26
students and two adults to an 800-900 square foot space for 6.5 hours a day is
crowded condition and is not conducive to creating a learning environment
- the parity of
programming at Mt. Caesar compared to other district elementary schoos is a
factor to be considered
Traditionally Mt. Caesar third grade students have scored on the state test in
a position that placed us in the middle of Keene Elementary Schools. Over the
past two or three years however our scores have not kept pace and this year we
did not make AYP. I have to reflect on whether the loss of 3 classroom
teachers and all general classroom aides ( 8 to 10 people) over the past five
years has had an adverse effect on the learning and performance of Mt. Caesar
Students.
As I stated at the board meeting on Tuesday - I will always advocate for my
students and provide a smaller pupil teacher ration and a certified staff
member before adding general aides to a classroom. General aides are not
a substitute for a certified classroom teacher. Many do not possess the
experience, training or certification of a certified staff member.
When teaching a classroom with 25 or 26 third grade students teacher do not
have daily contact with all students in the classroom. This would leave
students who have few independent skills working independently or working with
the parp-professional. When students work unmonitored by the teacher they can
learn to do something the wrong way. ( Research shows it takes up to 75
repetitions to learn a new skills, I do not have data to support how many
repetitions it takes to un-learn and re-learn a new skill but it has to be more
than 75. ) It is possible that up to 8 student in a classroom with 26 students
could learn to do something the wrong way and not be corrected until the next
day. An inadequate pupil teacher ration in the classroom of 7, 8, and 9
year old children places all students in the class at risk.
In response to Jim Carnie's question/comments about the net increase of
students at Mt. Caesar resting at 17 students I share the way I determined how
many additional students Mt. Caesar currently has enrolled.. The
district and state base many decisions on a schools' October 1st count. ( the
population enrolled in our schools on October 1st ) That is the
data I used to determine more space and teachers were needed at Mt. Caesar.
On October 1, 2005 Mt Caesar recorded 369 students enrolled.
On October 1, 2006 Mt. Caesar recorded 399 students enrolled
My math says we are up 30 students, not 17.
Due to this increase of all students at Mt. Caesar we need 2 more classrooms
and 2 more teachers.
Please call 352-4797 x 502 or e-mail your questions, or ask them on Saturday.
Thank you for your support of Monadnock School District Students.
Betty