Parents ask Parkway board for additional staff at Sorrento Springs after fourth‑grade consolidation

Two Parkway parents told the Parkway Board of Education on Feb. 19 that a recent consolidation of fourth‑grade classes at Sorrento Springs Elementary has created a chaotic learning environment and harmed at least one student’s health.

Michelle Haupt, a Parkway parent and kindergarten teacher, said the school reduced fourth grade from three sections to two, placing students in classes of about 24 and 25. "This is not an environment that is successful for learning," Haupt said, and described constant interruptions, extreme behavior and a lack of personal space. She said one of the two remaining fourth‑grade teachers resigned two weeks earlier, which has amplified the problem.

Haupt said the situation led her son to develop migraines and stomach pains that doctors determined were anxiety related to school. "It became so severe that he's missed multiple days of school, and the thought of school leads him to have anxiety attacks," she told the board. Haupt asked the board to visit the classrooms and provide immediate support for the remainder of the school year.

Kaye Westrich, a Parkway parent with children in fourth grade and seventh grade, said parents learned of the consolidation only at open house and have received unsatisfactory answers from human resources about how the decision was made. Westrich said her group previously had three classes with fewer than 17 students each through kindergarten and asked the district to "evaluate further the need for a full time teacher's aide strictly assigned to fourth grade as well as a third teacher for fifth grade in the fall of 2025." She said staff and substitutes had been pushed to their limits, recounting a substitute who left a room in tears.

Parents acknowledged the district had told them the current classes were "at or under the cap," but they asked the board to make an exception based on the particular group's needs. Both speakers requested a teacher's aide for the remainder of fourth grade and that the district add a full‑time third teacher for fifth grade in the coming school year.

The board chair said public comments receive a written response; no immediate change or formal vote was taken during the meeting on these requests.

Why it matters: Large class sizes and unfilled teaching positions can affect individual students’ access to instruction and special supports. Parents say the combination of a recent resignation and a consolidated roster has created acute behavior and health impacts for at least one child.