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Voyager parent warns board against 32-student 5th-grade classes, urges paraeducator support
Summary
A Voyager Elementary parent told the board she expects two 5th-grade classes of ~31–32 students next year and urged the district to avoid combining sections or, at minimum, provide paraeducator support to keep class sizes manageable.
A Voyager Elementary parent told the Peninsula School District board on June 9 that the school is projected to run just two 5th-grade sections next year with roughly 31–32 students in each, a figure she said would impede reading and social-emotional recovery for children affected by pandemic-era learning loss.
"I'm begging you, please, for this age group, do not make them sit in a classroom with 32 students," Heidi Williams said during public comment, explaining that her daughter struggled in a similarly sized class last year and that a paraeducator helped but that the district should avoid creating such large cohorts.
Williams said Voyager’s typical class sizes run in the low 20s and that pushing 5th graders into larger classes would harm learning for students who experienced disrupted early education during COVID. She asked the board to flag the staffing plans now rather than wait until August or September, and to consider using paraeducators to meet the district’s head-count limits if necessary.
The board thanked Williams for raising the issue. The transcript does not record immediate policy changes or staffing commitments; the comment was entered as a public request for consideration during the summer staffing and budget decisions.
