Juneau School District officials acknowledged this week that they are struggling to meet optimum pupil-to-teacher ratios approved earlier this year at several Juneau schools.
Class sizes at some elementary schools exceed the approved ratios of 22:1 for primary classes — kindergarten through second grade — and 26.5:1 for intermediate classes — third-grade through fifth-grade. In some cases, teachers are managing classes six students above PTR.
“We just completed two years of very significant budget cuts that included reductions at every level of the organization, and as much as we tried to protect the classroom — and proportionately speaking, we did — we still have some enrollment bubbles,” said Glenn Gelbrich, JSD superintendent, before a Board of Education retreat Tuesday.
Gelbrich said as many as six district schools are affected, but the school hardest hit with these “bubbles” appears to be Riverbend Elementary School.
“Riverbend School right now has, for its primary grades, way too many kids,” said Carrie Macaulay, a Riverbend parent concerned about the school’s enrollment issues.
Both kindergarten classes at Riverbend currently have 24 students enrolled, and its first-grade and second-grade classes have a whopping 28 students each. Its blended first- and second-grade class has 25 students.
“At the elementary level … the biggest issue is that at Riverbend, that we have a couple of primary grade classes that are at 28,” Gelbrich said Tuesday. “And we don’t want that — ever. So that’s pretty much a priority for us right now.”
“In our K-2, we have 129 students, and when you take that and divide it by the PTR ratio of 22, it puts us at 5.86 staff currently,” Riverbend Principal Shannon Avenson explained. “So what that means is we have five staff, you know, and typically you round up, and ideally we would have six staff.”
Davin Savikko teaches a class of 24 kindergarteners at Riverbend. He said that when classes are too large, it is the students who are most affected.
“The difficulties are there when you have six extra kids, seven extra kids. It just cuts down, you know, from that attention that they need and deserve, especially with the real young kids,” Savikko said. “It’s their first time in public school, their first experience at school. There’s so much that they need. And when you just cram more and more kids into a classroom, that’s where the difficulties lie. It’s really not fair for the kids.”
Macaulay and several other parents have sent emails to Gelbrich and other JSD staff, as well as to school board members, urging them to hire a new teacher at Riverbend.
“These large class sizes are unacceptable at any elementary school,” Macaulay wrote in one email. “Riverbend has worked so hard to improve, but if teachers aren’t given basic supports like a reasonable class size, how can we expect our students to progress?”
Riverbend, which is a Title I school, eligible for additional funding due to its relatively high number of students from low-income households, has failed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress standards in the past two years.
Macaulay said she is frustrated that in light of its AYP issues, Riverbend remains understaffed for the number of primary students it has.
But Riverbend is not alone. Harborview Elementary School has seven teachers for 170 students in primary classes — less than the 7.73 teachers it would need to meet PTR.
At a school summit Thursday at Thunder Mountain High School, Gelbrich addressed the issue while taking questions from parents on the state of Juneau’s schools.
“There’s some enrollment situations that are unacceptable, and we have no resources to address them until we have an exact, precise count of every kid,” said Gelbrich. “And we’re hoping that that will produce some leeway to fix one or two of those problems. … My confidence level that we can do more than that hovers around zero.”
The JSD is holding off on any potential new hiring until it can assess enrollment after Labor Day, the district officials explained.
“We have to make sure that our numbers are solid, and when we do, then we will resolve the issues that we have,” Gelbrich said Tuesday. “It’s possible that, if our numbers solidify and come in where we need them to come in, then it’s possible we might add a teacher there. It’s also possible we might add some staffing in a place or two beyond that. But none of those are, by any means, a certainty.”
Alluding to the district’s budget woes, Gelbrich remarked, “We can’t write a check that we can’t cash.”
But Macaulay does not seem satisfied by the answer.
“Please explain to me how there can be no money available for another teacher if the budget that was approved back in April included a 22:1 PTR for primary grades?” Macaulay wrote in an email Wednesday to school board member Barbara Thurston. “Riverbend’s primary grades are well above that PTR in all classes, so I don’t understand if the district budgeted for 22:1, how can there not be any funding for another teacher?”
Enrollment issues now are due to underestimates during the staffing period, Thurston wrote back.
“Staffing for each school was made based on the board-approved pupil-teacher ratio and the ‘best guess’ of enrollment that was made shortly before school started,” Thurston wrote. “Several schools, Riverbend in particular, had a final enrollment that was larger than predicted, which resulted in larger class sizes than anyone wants.”
Thurston’s email added, “Riverbend has made some important gains in achievement over the last year, and we want to maintain that progress. I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to hire another teacher to reduce the class sizes. But, I don’t expect there to be any progress on this issue, or more information, before the (Sept. 11) board meeting.”
At Riverbend, Avenson and Savikko said they are doing the best they can with the resources they have. Some parents have offered to volunteer in their children’s classes, and staff can potentially be reassigned from their current duties to support teachers where they are needed, according to Avenson.
“Our goal is to prepare every kid for fifth grade. … We’re going to achieve that goal whether we get (an additional) teacher,” said Avenson. “We’re prepared, if we get that teacher, to move forward as soon as possible. And if we don’t get the teacher, I have a plan to move forward to help these classrooms get the job done. So we’re going to get it done either way.”
Savikko added, quietly, “But it’d be more fair to the kids, with less kids.”
• Contact reporter Mark D. Miller at 523-2279 or at mark.d.miller@juneauempire.com.
Comments (52)
Add commentUnacceptable
Why money is taken away from our education system and our children's education is beyond me. Most schools now only have a nurse in the afternoon, what about those children that need regular doses of medication? What happens when there is an emergency? Our teachers are overworked with the number of students in the classrooms!Stop this insanity. Take money away from somewhere else, NOT EDUCATION! Quit serving steaks to inmates for example!
I'll answer for the people
I'll answer for the people responsible..
Sorry, your children's future is in the middle of what we call politics. We use the education system along with any other topic we can conjur up to detract from us not serving the peoples best interests. Instead of forward thinking we want to bring education back to the early 50's where children are seen but not heard. If we give children too much freedom and encourage creativity and social emotional skills they will vote us out for destroying their country. And we just can't do that. There's too much money out there that we haven't spent!
JDHS science classes crowded, can't do labs.
Some science classes at JDHS are so crowed that the teacher sent a letter home saying labs can't be done safely with that many students and he won't do them. Apparently 4- 6 students sit on the floor between chem lab benches and this class won't receive lab credit.
Parents have been told that a letter from the science department about this issue received no response whatsoever from central office.
Harborview way over
Clarification to the article: every classroom in every grade at Harborview School far exceeds the PTR.
Pay freeze
The teachers in Juneau just took a pay freeze. The para helpers took a pay freeze. And the folks in charge can't figure out how to round up in order to help our kids?
7 teachers when their own formula says 7.73? Didn't they teach math in Oregon where the superintendent came from?
When it comes to kids, you round up, you yahoos...it's only a few more teachers for a couple of schools filled with kids from low-income housing neighborhoods - You know, the population you're trying to help according to Thursday's paper?
Sounds like some new management is needed.
MRCS in the same boat
Mendenhall River is in the same situation. We have two second grade classes at 27 and 28. The two 4th grade classes are at 29. Not sure about the other classrooms. Apparently MRCS isn't the only school being shorted teachers. You can't teach when you are dealing with that many kids. When are the KIDS going to be a priority?
MOST classes exceed
Most classes exceed the PTR would be a better headline. Too bad the reporter didn't do a little investigating rather than just quoting people. The enrollment numbers school by school and class by class are available at District Office. Every parent should request the info and make a public complaint to the school board. At Gastineau, the three intermediate classrooms (4th, 4/5th and 5th) are at 29 and 30 students. There are no spec ed assistants for those classes either.
The $50,000 technology upgrade money would probably help the over-crowding!
This town has a little over
This town has a little over 31,000 people. According to Wikipedia 27% of the population is under the age of 18. Do the math.
According to the Juneau School District 2013 budget, a total of $91,776,500 are the "total education expenditures".
You have to go down to page 40 of the 228 page document, but it's all there:
http://www.juneauschools.org/uploads/0/district/administrative_services/...
Madness. Sheer madness.
My mistake. The number I
My mistake. The number I listed above is the proposed budget for 2014. For 2013 the amount is $92,475,700
unacceptable means what?
I would think it means that something will be done to change it, since it's unacceptable. That something might be to reallocate money from budget items that have not already been spent this year. It's just budgeted...not already spent. There's still time to fix this if the school board and superintendent really feel it's unacceptable.
btw...where's the empire follow-up on construction delays at Gastineau. Entering week 3 of school with no gym, computer lab, library, commons area or kitchen for lunch, main office...
Inequity in the elementary schools
I am the RB parent who was quoted in this article. My own 4th grader is in a class of 30 students, however, RB still meets PTR for secondary because overall, they have a ratio of 26.5:1 in their 3/4/5th grades. So there will be no relief for him.
These numbers come straight from the JSD:
#of primary kids / PTR / Actual #of teachers
Auke Bay 170 / 7.7 / 8
Gastineau 157 / 7.1 / 7
Glacier Valley 190 / 8.6 / 9
Harborview 170 / 7.7 / 7
Mendenhall 162 / 7.3 / 7
Riverbend 132 / 6.0 / 5 (note that the report I got says 129 students, but I know 3 more students have been added to the primary classes since the report was made, making it 132; not sure about any other schools)
So parents of RB and HBV students, I urge you to contact the school board and the district officials and ask them to make this inequity right.
Politics on the backs of our children
So much of the school budget is prepared in ways that are mysterious and complicated - and I think it's on purpose. Anytime a budget is prepared for the public, it's prepared in whatever format the preparer wants it to be... and we all know that numbers can be manipulated, combined, etc. in order to "hide" expenditures. We have classrooms of 30, 29, 28... that the superintendent is himself saying is "unacceptable."
To not be hiring teachers to add to each school - to not admit that something really bad happened - is NOTHING BUT POLITICAL.
If he decides to find the money (and we all know it can be found) and hires more teachers, what will we whine about to the legislature in four months? We need misery and mayhem to motivate people. AND, if he hires more teachers, the district doesn't exactly look as destitute as he wants us (and the teacher's union) to believe.
The crappier this year is for our children, the more likely we are to write letters to people who can actually make change and give more money.
That's a fact.
And, BTW, I bet most of the thumbs down crowd has not entered a school classroom in years. I have young kids and let me tell you, grumps, school looks a lot different than when I was there. One of my kids classes has three children so special needs they EACH have a full-time person attached to them. You think that doesn't affect a classroom when there are 29 kids and two are moaning and swaying back and forth in the back of the room with a person murmuring to them, talking to them, explaining what's going on? That wouldn't distract you being in a crammed room? Space matters. Federal law has changed a great deal since I was in school, and if you don't think the shift of allowing every single child, no matter how special needs, into the regular classroom isn't expensive, then you haven't seen the stuff I have.
Inequity in education
"We can't write a check that we can't cash"... interesting comment from our superintendent. I'd like to think there is an endless supply of money to educate our students - but that isn't the reality. Unfortunately, until student counts are confirmed and reported to SOA (in October), the district can't speak to the actual amount of money it will have in its coffers. That is a failure of the Legislature - they need to forward fund education. Certainly, the kids need smaller classrooms and the District needs to find the money. In the short term, there is the Fund Balance. It exists, every year, sometimes larger, sometimes smaller. If the District knows the student numbers are solid, then they should hire the teachers needed NOW (delaying only further impacts student learning). Funding will then come through in October... and the Fund Balance will still be in tact. Surely the district knows how much money is sitting in the Fund Balance, right? Question the number, folks. It's what I'd do...
It's not just the parents who
It's not just the parents who recognize the disadvantage here. My 3rd grader enrolled at Harborview came home from school last week and expressed to me in an almost defeated tone, "but Mom, there are TWENTYNINE kids in my classroom! She (her teacher) couldn't answer my question!"
This was her response to me while we were working on homework when I asked why she didn't ask her teacher for clarification if she didn't understand the work.
Even our little people feel recogize this hardship and it IS impacting their ability to learn.
@myself - LAWSUIT
If my high school student were not going to receive lab credit for a science class and he was going to college, I'd file a lawsuit with the district to maintain safe and adequate science laboratories immediately so kids can GO TO COLLEGE. I'll be darned if my kid had to wait another year for a credit because the district can't manage its class loads. I had to push on them a decade ago, or my kid wouldn't have had the language requirements to apply to his college of choice.
They wanted the second high school - they PUSHED for the second high school - and all it's done is shrink class offerings to those of the 1960s. They'll never admit they were wrong in opening the second high school; nothing but lawsuits will convince them to fix this huge problem. Two bad high schools is worse than one crowded one. Fix it!
Ridiculous.
The teachers
aren't thrilled either, and the large class sizes are not confined to only the elementary schools.
Classrooms
My child is one of those children that has a para educator and she isn't "moaning and swaying in the back of a classroom".
I understand the point of the comments but all children have a right to an education. I wish my daughter didn't need help in her classroom and I am truly sorry if she distracts her "normal worthier peers" with any sort of behavior that interrupts them in their pursuits of knowledge.
And, by the way, I have been in these classrooms. The "regular" kids who don't need paras are disruptive too. Laughing. Playing with cell phones. Slapping each other and running around. Who is distracting who?
We need to fix our budget and crowding problems. Snarky comments about special needs children is cruel.
Time to go?
A quick look at the Juneau School District approved budget for Fy 2012 revealed that the district budgeted for 342.3 teachers and that the district student population is currently at 4855. Thus, the student teacher ratio is budgeted for 14.18 students for every teacher. In order to get the ratio up to over 20 students per teacher the student population would need to increase to 7000, a gain of 2145 students, and that, just did not happen.
So, what is going on?
Either the superintendant has the teachers he needs to keep the ratio down where it should be or he has the funds to hire them. It is my guess that he has the teachers but they are not in classrooms. Either way, this is a clear failure of leadership; He was given clear guidelines and given the resources necessary to accomplish the task and has failed to do so.
questioning the District's priorities
We DO need to push our state's policy makers to more adequately fund public education, especially at a time when oil revenues are high. Meanwhile, though, there are many aspects to the current administration's fiscal priorities that they themselves determine. Is the AVID program worth the number of classroom teachers it costs to run (and to fly peole to out of state training)? Is too much money spent on outside consultants rather than tapping local teacher expertise? Are we spending too much on MAP testing? Are we effectively applying for federal grants?
By raising these questions, I don't presume to have the answers, but I think we have to keep in mind that at times of financial crisis, certain sacred cows may have to be sacrificed. Hopefully class size is among the very last of these.
@Momofthree
I would like to have a copy of your source document for those classroom size figures. Where exactly did you get it?
@shenry100
I DO believe that every child has the right to an education.
YOU came up with the word, "Worthier" and while I understand you are coming from an emotional place, I think you missed MY POINT:
I said that SPACE MATTERS.
When you cram 29 children plus extra adults into a room designed to hold 20-22 children, it becomes a matter of real estate.
Nothing about my comment was "snarky" and perhaps if you re-read my comment, you'd see that my point is that in the last 50 years, the face of education has changed and it has become more expensive. It's not just a teacher, books and desks anymore.
Most people just complain about how much education costs compared to the past when they don't know the facts and the changes that have occurred.
Mentioning special needs is not cruel - special needs is a fact of life for many, and many special needs children suffer from overcrowded classes, too. Pretending that it doesn't exist or is non-mentionable is not helpful.
Working together and not infighting is important if parents want to help all children succeed.
Alot of excellent comments here:
Yes the second high school should not have been built, because there are now close to 700 students in each high school. JDHS could have easily handled the numbers. The school board knew these numbers were going to go down, but they insisted that they build it because there was "free" state money to build it. It WAS brought up to them there would be no money from the state to run it, but they couldn't get those $ signs out of their eyes.
@Ak Angel: first of all nurses are not emergency responders, they are there for basic needs. If there is an emergency then they need to call 911 just as if you are at the mall or library or grocery store and have an emergency. "Juneau's bravest" would be happy to respond. Secondly it is the likes of the liberal ilk that "felt sorry" for the inmates and fought for them to have free medical and three hot meals per day. I would be happy if you wanted to take up the notion that they get those things taken away or at least reduced because there is no incentive for criminals to stop doing crimes when they know they will be given everything in prison.
The school district has an incredible amount of money per student and who knows where that money is going. Utah uses about $5,000 per student and have better scores than us, We use about 18,000 per student.
Rise up
Although I think the article left out some important facts about all the schools, I think it is good the community is aware of this issue. It is the community that can rise up and demand change. The District obviously will not listen to the staff.
30 Fifth graders in a classroom? There literally aren't enough desks, chairs and coat hooks - let alone the important things like the amount of quality time with the teacher. It changes the whole focus on the school day from instruction to management. The size of the classrooms aren't even adequate for those numbers. How would you look forward to cramming into a small conference room with 29 of your co-workers and try to do your work all day long - every day?
24 - 26 Kindergartners? Take a child from a home care or preschool setting where they are used to a 5:1 child to adult ratio (at the most) and then put them in a classroom with so many other children who also need one teacher's help? The PTR of 22:1 was pushing it to inappropriate levels, but allowing it to exceed that (which it does every year) is truly unacceptable.
Many schools do not even give their teachers a budget for supplies - so, unless it comes from their own pocket (the one that is not given a raise to keep up with the cost of living for their own families), they have to ask the families of their students to donate money for bus fees during field trips or to send in snacks or school supplies. None of that is supported by the school district.
Kids are going to schools (Auke Bay/Gastineau) that aren't even functional because of delayed construction, they are in overcrowded classrooms, their families are asked to supplement budgets by donating and volunteering, and have teachers/staff who are making a lot of personal sacrifices - in time, money and energy - to make it all work. And...why aren't the schools making AYP? Why are we even asking that question?
Juneau needs to take a stand and make a change. It MUST come from the parents and the community. It's the only way.
Nurses
Well, we kept all but two nurses because that's all everyone complained about at the meetings. LOTS of people.
But at the proposal of raising the PTR --- crickets.
When will people realize that the squeaky wheel gets the grease? If you care about PTR, the board needs to know about it.
Classroom data
I received the report classroom numbers from David Means at the JSD. Send him an email and he will get you a copy.
tired of excuses
I am tired of the superintendent's excuses and empty apologies on this one. I don't understand how there is money to fund 6 full-time "instructional coaches" in the district - these are teachers who don't have classrooms and don't relieve the pressure on classroom numbers. I am all in support of teacher training, but 6 people in this role seems like a ridiculous luxury when we are dealing with more pressing issues like reasonable class sizes.
Frankly, I have been in my child's classroom quite a bit already this year, and her teacher doesn't need mentoring! If there truly is no funding to get our numbers to reasonable levels, and get our high school science students off the floor, then lets look at the waste that is the instructional coach position..... no more excuses!
It's Mr. Gelbrich's Priorities
The district is absolutely bleeding money running specialty programs that serve only a handful of students. AVID is a perfect example. The program costs thousands of dollars per site it is implemented at. Teachers and administrators are flown to San Diego each year for AVID training. Some administrators have attended this training multiple years in a row. The trainings alone cost the district more than the salary of one teacher each year. The AVID program serves a small niche group of students. It boasts great success at graduating students and for those it serves, it does great things. However, AVID accepts only "middle of the road" students. It rejects the highest need students and those with behavior "histories" and thus, is able to make its claims on graduation and college acceptance.
Mr. Gelbrich has stated that he wants AVID to become an integral part of the district, but why are we committing to such a high priced program that serves so few of our students when we can't even afford to staff our buildings properly? AVID helps those students that are accepted into the program. That's a fact. But does it really mesh with the "each one, every one" mantra? I would say no.
District priorities questionable
Some of the cuts that were suppose to happen in administration have not happened. Scandaling is still drawing a paycheck that could pay for two more teachers. The custodial coordinator still has a job. The district has around 330 teachers, so where are those extra 12? Science classes are too big at both high schools, not just JDHS so quit beating that dead horse. No pay increase for anyone, but the superintendent flies home to Oregon on the districts dime every other weekend. Priorities.
AVID - grant funded?
I'm not sure of the total figures, but I thought a lot if not all of AVID costs were covered by grants outside the JSD regular budget. Some of this has been covered by the Empire in the past such as:
http://juneauempire.com/stories/011211/loc_768878176.shtml
Not a fan of AVID either. Not only is not open to most struggling students, it's also not open to the gifted students who fall in the Enhanced Learning category. The attitude of the current administration has been hostile to intellectually gifted kids as well; following the "they don't need any help" mindset. Totally ignoring the fact that these kids also have special needs to be challenged in the classroom or they lose interest.
And how about unnecessary busing?
Another total drain is the unnecessary busing of high school students. The district spends THOUSANDS of dollars bussing high school students that live within walking distance of TMHS to JDHS and a few students from North Douglas to TMHS. I know the district touted high school choice in the beginning when the schools were supposed to be totally different but they are offering virtually the same classes. If a high school student wants to go to JDSH and lives next to TMHS or visa versa - fine. But it shouldn't be on the district's dime. They can take public transportation or get there on their parent's dime. Time to draw boundaries and stop putting money into a luxury that serves no purpose.
And get rid of instructional coaches and give the schools what they need - teachers and nurses.