Serving Whitman County since 1877

Colfax first grade now fully staffed

A patchwork of staff has been called in to help teach the oversized first grade class at Jennings Elementary in Colfax. An enrollment of 28 first graders this September left the administration with a class too big for one teacher but too small for two.

The total of 28 first graders is a low amount for the district which has had declining enrollment for a number of years.

The administration has hired an additional part-time aide and Jan Varnes, school librarian, will come over from the high school to assist three periods a day. The library will be closed for those periods.

Principal Tom Arlt also used $10,000 from the elementary budget to pay one more staff member to help with the children’s math period.

Parents of children in the class have been protesting its size. Teacher-student ratio for learning and safety issues have been concerns.

Parent Donna Huntwork spoke at a school board meeting last Monday, Sept. 13, and she and eight other class mothers met with Arlt and Supt. Michael Morgan to go over the staffing last Thursday.

Bev Stubbers, first grade teacher, did not attend because she was teaching the class.

Arlt and Morgan explained their choice of staff to the group. One parent wanted to know how they plan to accommodate the class when they move to second grade. Another asked if her student would even be challenged with the work given out in a class this big.

Arlt pointed out that the math and reading groups will be split into small groups of comparable skill sets. For example, advanced students will be in the same instruction group.

Huntwork told the Gazette before the meeting she was concerned the children wouldn’t get enough one-on-one time with the teachers. Just getting a class of that size out the door to activities is going to take longer than normal, not to mention the crowded seating arrangement, Huntwork said.

After the meeting, Huntwork said she was extremely pleased with both the administration’s solution and their attitude.

“I think they’ve done a great job working with their resources. I’m thankful that they are willing to address concerns,” she said.

The individualized attention each child will receive with small reading and math groups is key, she said.

“They’ll have more teachers with small groups for those core learning times,” she said.

Morgan also explained the state has been cutting back steadily on funding because of the recession. He had just returned the day of the meeting from Spokane where education officials learned more state cuts were on the horizon. An expected influx of federal funding could help offset cuts in state funding, Morgan told the group.

 

Reader Comments(0)