Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Early Learning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Junior-kindergarten teacher urges board to cap class size after district plans single 22-student section
Summary
Junior-kindergarten teacher Angie Topham told the board she is asking them to review a planned 22-student junior-kindergarten class — larger than her experience and neighboring districts' practice — and asked the board to exercise its authority to provide relief for students.
Angie Topham, a junior-kindergarten teacher at Pipestone Area Schools, appealed to the school board to review a planned class of 22 junior-kindergarten students and consider relief. “My primary concern is the planned class size of 22 students,” Topham said, telling the board her class typically runs 14–16 students and that comparable Minnesota districts cap junior-kindergarten enrollment at 14–16.
Topham said staff had expected the possibility of two sections if enrollment warranted it and that administrators had previously indicated classroom observations and collaboration would inform placement decisions for students with special needs. She said those promised observations did not happen prior to final placements and that recommendations to reassign students or adjust staffing were dismissed. The teacher also told the board that no additional supports had been planned if the class proceeded at 22 students, and she asked the board to review the district’s junior-kindergarten class-size policy to protect students’ early-learning needs.
The board did not take immediate action during public forum; the item was discussed later in follow-up conversations and in staff planning. The comment was made during the public comment portion of the meeting and is on the record for board consideration ahead of the upcoming school year.
