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Parent urges board to avoid abrupt class-size jump at South Avenue
Summary
A South Avenue parent asked the Beacon City School District board to avoid raising a rising first-grade class from about 13 to the low‑20s in a single year, arguing the increase would harm students and that supports described by staff would be insufficient.
Helen Eamon, a parent of students at South Avenue School, told the Beacon City School District Board of Education on Aug. 25 that a planned change in class assignment for rising first graders would sharply increase class size at South Avenue and asked the board to reconsider.
Eamon said South Avenue has historically had some of the smallest class sizes in the district and reported that her son has never been in a class larger than 16 students. “I would not ask you to keep our class sizes at 13 indefinitely. I would ask you not to increase them by 61% in a single year for a group of 42 students,” she said during public comment.
The parent described last year’s adult support arrangements across classes and warned there will be fewer adults in the affected classrooms this year: “Last year, 3 classes had 2 teachers and an aide, 1 teacher and an aide and 4 adults... This year we’ll have 2 classes, 1 with 4 adults... and the other with 1 adult and 1 aide.” Eamon said that although the district discussed “extra supports” at a prior meeting, she expects no new additional supports for the coming year.
Board members and administrators acknowledged the concern during the meeting. Board member Matt (last name not specified in the transcript) said principals would monitor the classes from the start of the year and that the district could add paraprofessional support if needed. Matt said the elementary buildings previously shared three math intervention teachers and that placing a math specialist in each building this year should help with scheduling and instruction demands that can arise when class assignments change.
Several board members and administrators also discussed redistricting as a longer-term option to balance enrollment across schools as new housing developments come online, but they described that as a multi-year process. The board and staff discussed assessing class needs in the early weeks of the school year and adding aides or assistants if necessary.
Eamon’s remarks were part of the public‑comment portion of the Aug. 25 board meeting; no formal board action on rezoning or class assignments was recorded at that session.
Board members asked Eamon to share contact information for follow-up and said the district would monitor class conditions once school starts.
