Class Size Reduction (CSR) for 1st graders for the 2013-2014 school year was recently unanimously approved by the Pleasanton Unified School District School Board. The decision followed a community campaign led by the group Pleasanton Partners in Education (PPIE) to raise funds for CSR, specifically to reduce the student/teacher ratio from 30:1 to 25:1. PPIE was able to raise the money through donations and staging a half marathon and 5K running race earlier this spring. The amount raised was just shy of the amount needed to implement CSR for 1st graders in the next school year, so PPIE asked the School Board to close the gap. As stated, the School Board agreed, and has implemented CSR for 1st graders.
I am a 14-year resident of Pleasanton, now with two young boys at Walnut Grove who are affectionately called the Twinadoes by family, teachers, and principal. They have been described as a force of nature, so much so, that we are currently working with PG&E to harness the energy they produce to provide clean, cheap, and renewable energy to Pleasanton with the only inputs required being Mac & Cheese and Goldfish crackers.
Having a vested interest in CSR, not only for the benefit of my children, but also realizing that any improvement in Pleasanton’s already outstanding school system benefits my home value and strengthens my community, I became a supporter of PPIE’s efforts earlier this year. I am a product of the California public school system from K through university. I started in elementary school in the South Bay and traveled through the school system, earning a degree from UC San Diego. Class size when I was in elementary school--back when hair, back seats, and shirt collars were big--was typically 30 students per teacher. I believe this did not pose as great an issue then as it does today due to a few factors.
The economic pressure of living in California today is driving the majority of families to have both parents working long hours outside the home, many who commute an hour or more each day. The pressure was not as great when I was in school, allowing for more parent involvement in education and what I would call teaching “life lessons”, such as how to comport oneself in a class or during recess or during lunch, how to share, and how to resolve conflicts. These lessons were taught at home rather than in the classroom. For right or wrong, these lessons now often fall on our elementary school teachers.
The second factor is that the curriculum has changed dramatically since I attended K-3 grades. My children are learning to read as Kindergartners. They are doing basic addition and subtraction, learning about scientific principles, and even learning fairly advanced computer skills. My son recently came to me proudly to show me his fourth patent application for converting used Tully’s coffee cups into new Starbucks coffee cups. His brother recently received his first patent for a process to produce fuel for a future Mars lander from surplus Twinkies and Ding Dongs.
Sorry for the cliché, but “back in my day”, our curriculum consisted of Coloring within the Lines, Napping 101, Comparative Thumbsucking, and Basics of Tetherball. We did not have computer lab or science lab or the myriad other education options our children have. And our teachers must manage. So, with class sizes at 30 students per teacher, how can we expect our teachers to deliver this staggering amount of content, optimize it for various learning styles, and give personal attention to students when needed?
I know our teachers are up to the task, but I believe they would be even more effective if the ratio was 25 to 1 or 20 to 1. With the School Board’s decision, we will be able to see the benefits in the next school year. My children are already running circles around me; let’s give them the opportunity to lap me and drive towards implementing CSR in all elementary grade levels over the next few years.
Besides, I want my boys to be able to weigh the features and benefits and apply critical thinking in order to place me in a really nice retirement home when the time comes.
