While California attempts to restore one of its biggest financial dilemmas, Placer High School deals with the consequences of increasing class sizes.
Budget cuts in California have forced schools all over the state to raise the number of students per classroom. At Placer High there is an average of 36.1 pupils per teacher in the academic classes, and 42-45 in PE classes according Peter Efstathiu, Placer High principal. This means that for every 36.1 student enrolled at Placer High, the state gives us one teacher. With Placer High in its fourth week of school, students are recognizing the crowded conditions in their class rooms.
“The upside is probably that the teachers don’t have time to thoroughly check the homework” Dylan Johnson says laughing. “The downfall is when it comes to individual time with the teacher; they must get stretched pretty thin.”
Another student at Placer High, Mackenzie Winegar, said that in her photo class the packed room doesn’t make much of a difference because she doesn’t need a lot of one on one time with the teacher. Unfortunately when it comes to her academic classes she can sometimes feel overwhelmed.
“When I’m in an academic class, and all my classmates are talking it can be hard to stay focused. Some days I feel like the teacher doesn’t listen to or understand my questions, and I get lost. I’m sure I would learn better with fewer classmates.”
High schools aren’t the only schools with crowded class rooms. Elementary schools have also been feeling the sting of budget cuts. Rhonda Phillips, A 3rd and 4th grade Teacher at Georgetown school states,
“I liked it better when it was 20; 1 because the children got more one on one attention” She has a TA that occasionally works with the students in small groups. Although the TA helps’ out when she can, the challenge her current class has 26 students; this means more report cards, more papers to grade, and more parents to conference with.
Regardless, the financial constrictions inflicted upon schools in California have impacted everyone no matter what school you attend or what grade you’re in. The teachers have been challenged with students practically overflowing their rooms and the teachers are doing their best.