The Community Consolidated School District 21 Board of Education heard urgent concerns Aug. 21 about large class sizes that began with the first day of classes and persist at some schools, prompting parents and staff to ask the district to add sections rather than rely on aides.

Parents and staff said the sizes are already at or above the district guideline of 25 students per class for the affected grade and that one Riley second‑grade classroom started the year with 26 students and another with 25; a parent said one class includes four students who are deaf or hard of hearing, which she said brings the effective headcount to 29 for classroom management and instruction.

Why it matters: Large elementary class sizes and crowded middle‑school courses can change how teachers deliver instruction and how much individualized support students—with and without special needs—receive. Parents in the meeting said aides are not an adequate substitute for a certified teacher and urged the board to add a classroom section or find alternate space.

District presentation and response
Mr. Roberts, a district staff member who presented the enrollment report, said district registration work over the summer left only a small number of returning students unregistered, a marked improvement from prior years. Roberts noted targeted enrollment outreach—staff going to apartment complexes and registration events—to raise on‑time registration.

Roberts described specific capacity and staffing developments: Poe Elementary has one dual‑language kindergarten section exceeding guidelines but staffed with both a teacher and an aide; Riley has added an extra kindergarten and first‑grade section and hired a first‑grade teacher. For Riley’s second grade the district added a teaching assistant to split time between two classrooms (one at 25, one at 26 students) because there is no additional classroom space available at Riley.

At the middle‑school level, Roberts reported multiple science and social studies sections above the guideline of 27 for those subjects at the time the report was pulled. He said a July 29 resignation by a science/social‑studies teacher contributed to student redistribution; the district received few qualified applicants for that posting because the split of science and social‑studies sections required a teacher with specific endorsements. Roberts said several of the over‑size middle‑school sections have co‑teaching or TA supports for special‑education or English‑learner needs.

Public comment and board questions
During public comment Katie Swinich, a District 21 parent, urged immediate action to add a second‑grade section at Riley, saying aides are not an adequate substitute for certified teachers and calling for “thinking outside the box” because space is tight. Ben Coleman, president of the District 21 Education Association and a Cooper Middle School teacher, praised district leadership’s responsiveness on staff concerns but did not address the Riley item directly.

Board members asked clarifying questions about which aides are general classroom assistants and which support specific students with individualized needs; Roberts said the Riley aide is a general classroom assistant while some middle‑school TAs are assigned for individual student needs in co‑taught sections. Board members also discussed the district’s past practice of shifting students across upper elementary grades to make early grades smaller, and the trade‑offs of higher class sizes in older grades.

Discussion versus decision
District staff described actions taken (added FTE, an added classroom section at other grade levels, and assignment of teaching assistants) and the operational constraint of no available physical classroom at Riley. The board did not take a formal vote on adding a new Riley section during the meeting. Board members asked staff to continue monitoring enrollment and report back; no formal directive or binding action was recorded.

Context and clarifying details
- District class size guideline cited at the meeting: 25 students for the grade level discussed.
- Riley second‑grade classroom sizes reported in the meeting: one at 25 and one at 26 students; parent reported four deaf/hard‑of‑hearing students in one of those rooms.
- Middle‑school over‑size counts (as reported the week prior to the meeting): multiple science and social‑studies sections above guideline; some sections co‑taught for special education or English‑learner support; one science/social‑studies teacher resigned July 29, creating redistribution challenges.

What’s next
Staff said they will continue to monitor enrollments, reallocate sections where feasible, and report back; the board did not vote on additional staffing or space solutions at the Aug. 21 meeting.