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Board hears enrollment update; district seeks middle-school teachers amid higher middle-grade section sizes
Summary
District staff reported open teaching positions, higher middle-school class sizes at Cooper, Holmes and London, and ongoing recruitment steps including Frontline and LinkedIn outreach; trustees discussed long-term sub options and supports in co-taught and TA-assisted classes.
District staff told the board on Sept. 18 that several middle-school sections are larger than the district guideline and that the district is actively recruiting to fill teacher vacancies, notably at Cooper Middle School where resignations before the school year increased section sizes.
A staff presenter said the district posted openings through its main recruiting system, Frontline, and uses LinkedIn and targeted outreach to invite candidates to apply. He told trustees that as of the meeting only one applicant had applied for a recently reposted middle-school position.
The presenter gave section-level detail: at Holmes sections were between 28 and 29 students; at London seven of eight sections were at 28 and one at 30; Cooper had the largest increases. He also described instructional supports in affected classes: multiple science sections are co-taught (three listed) with EL co-teaching and several sections have TA support; social-studies sections include special-education co-teaching and some with TA support. The district is continuing to hire teaching assistants and one-on-one aides where needed.
Board members asked about recruitment options and whether the district would use long-term substitutes to bridge gaps. Superintendent Dr. Connolly cautioned that the district would not hire underqualified candidates simply to reduce class size: "we're not gonna hire somebody just to, you know, mitigate classroom size concerns at the middle school," he said, noting concerns about candidate quality and the timing of available applicants (many hires spike in December with new graduates).
Staff described other short-term options if numbers rise further, such as offering overage pay to teachers willing to give up a planning period and take an extra section. Trustees asked that principals continue regular check-ins with teachers in larger classes and that the district monitor staffing and report back.
The district said it had hired some support staff already and expected to fill additional TA openings in the coming days.
