Mineola School Board Studies Class Size Guidelines

Following a in the week before school started, the revisited some of their classroom guidelines during a recent meeting at the .

The guidelines for the respective grades are as follows: pre-K: 20 students; kindergarten through second: 22; grades three and four: 24; grade five and up: 26. The guidelines are written to adhere towards New York State standards to set enrollment at first week in October.

“The question becomes when do you decide to open a new section on a grade,” Superintendent Dr. Michael  Nagler said at the board’s September 15 meeting, noting that it is easier to open a new section when all the classes are in one building.

To determine whether a new section should be opened,one takes the grade’s total enrollment and divides by number of students in a class. For example, in a class of 97 students divided by 22 pupils per classroom would equal 4.4 teachers. When the number reaches the “halfway mark” it would call for another teacher.

If the kindergarten class were to add two additional students for a total of 231 students, dividing by 22 pupils as per the guidelines would equal 10.5 teachers which becomes 11 teachers and a new section would open.

“Right now we’re not at that number,” Dr. Nagler said, as the district was still waiting on one child to be enrolled. The superintendent said they would have to be two before they “spill” to the next class.

Board president Christine Napolitano asked what would happen if more children would enrolled in November, it being noted that contrary could also be true about students moving out of the district.

“That’s why they’re guidelines,” Dr. Nagler said. “You try to have an objective way to figure out how to add an additional section and then you’re using your best judgement.”

Several anomolies in class size exist in the second grade at , which has two or three more pupils than the second grade at . There are two second grade classes at Hampton and seven at Jackson Avenue. The district asked several of the parents of the new enrollments if they would like their children to attend Jackson Avenue since they would move there the following year anyway, but all declined the option.

The superintendent also cautioned against adding a contingency staff member only to excess them in April because of closing of the Willis Avenue School. “To hire somebody now when you know you’re going to exces people and you still haven’t met your guideline, it would not be my recomendation,” he said.

Dr. Nagler did admit that he did not know if his recomendation would be the same next year once the building closes and “we’re settled and we’re short staffed and is appropriate.”