Override helps shrink class sizes

For several years, teacher Penny Hoffman wanted to put an educational computer and a writing table in her classroom for her kindergarten students, but she lacked the space.

She couldn’t do it last year because she had 29 students, and the five tables she had were “completely packed with students” in her Anza Trail School classroom.

This year, because district voters last November approved funding for the hiring of 20 more teachers in grades kindergarten through three, Hoffman got her wish. With only 17 students at three tables, she has been able to put in two computers and a writing table.

In her seven years teaching in the district, this is the first time Hoffman has had a class as small as 17.

“I have found in these first two weeks of school that everything runs smoothly. It takes less time to do simple things like washing hands. This means we can spend more time working on academics. At the end of each day, I go home and feel confident that I have worked with every student in my class.”

With the extra space, Hoffman said, “I have been able to set up two computers for students to play educational games on. I have also been able to set up a writing table where students can use their imagination to create. This is one I have wanted to do for a long time.”

While crowding at the high school and middle school levels has dominated headlines for the Sahuarita schools, many primary school class sizes have shrunk this year. That’s because the K-3 override was approved by district voters, along with three other funding measures, last November, after supporters pointed out that class sizes were growing with enrollment and said that state funding was inadequate to support expanded schools.

The K-3 override provided 20 new teachers for the primary school, the third grade at Sahuarita Intermediate School and Anza Trail School, where enrollment has grown by double digit numbers in several recent years. New teachers were not provided from the K-3 override for Sopori Elementary School, where enrollment has been relatively stable.

Teachers in other primary grades are happy about the change in class size as well, saying that quiet children who don’t demand attention can easily be overlooked in a large classroom, but will get more attention in a smaller group.

Barbara Tingle of Sahuarita Primary School is in the same classroom as last year, but it looks a lot more spacious, as she has fewer than 20 students this year, compared to more than 30 a few years back.

“It’s so nice to use the space for 19 children rather than the 31 that I had a few years ago. Students have adequate room at their tables to work, room to store their things and room to move,” Tingle said.

“As for time spent with each student, I’m finding that I can address the needs of my kids more effectively and efficiently as a result of the smaller numbers, and can more easily give each of them the time they want, need and deserve. In a large group it’s too common for quiet, shy students to get lost in the crowd. The smaller class situation allows for those students to receive the attention and acknowledgment that they merit,” Tingle said.

For Mary Jo Boyter in Sahuarita Primary School, having 24 students instead of 29 last year means “Basically... one guided reading group less, which allows for more times to meet with each of my reading groups. It should also allow more time for some more time for individual help. I feel I already have more time with each student, but there is always room for more.”

Tingle added that she would like to express, “on behalf of the SPS faculty and staff as well as me personally, the gratitude that the school has for the community for making such a strong commitment to education in such a local fashion. The override, and the resulting smaller class sizes, will have a positive impact on hundreds of children’s lives.”

While the high school has been troubled by lack of classroom space, the primary schools have been able to find room for their new teachers. Anza Trail School, which partially opened in January 2007, opened completely in August 2007, providing some new space.

In addition to approving the seven-year K-3 override, voters in 2007 approved a seven-year operating budget (officially a maintenance and operations) override that funded another 20 teachers, plus a 14-year $14.7 million bond program and a measure to allow the district to spend interest revenues on acccrued bond funds. Officials say the measures have helped reduce crowding that would have been worse in the rapidly-growing district.

pfranchine@sahuaritasun.com | 547-9738