Keeping Wilton High School at its customary high standards is getting harder with classes growing to 25, 26 and even 30 students, Principal Tim Canty says. He made sure the Board of Finance knew just how bad the situation was during a budget workshop Tuesday night with the Board of Education.
The impact is not around the edges, it is in the classroom, Canty said of the student-teacher ratio in the high school.
Every spring, the high school considers phasing out classes like French and Russian and tries to schedule courses differently to control class size. However, those decisions are estimations and can be wrong, Canty said.
Canty urged the boards not to cut teachers from the lower schools because thats where students are prepared for bigger high school classes.
Last year, the high school lost 2.9 full-time teachers the number is not whole because not all teachers were full-time. The Board of Educations proposed budget would add 1.75 teachers to the high school.
Looking for possible ways to lower spending, the Board of Finance wanted to know if there were studies that showed the impact class size has on learning. The Board of Education didnt have that information.
The two boards will meet again about school spending on Feb. 15.
How big of an impact do you think class size plays on the learning experience? Why? Add your opinion and keep the conversation going below.
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