Schools
$28,445 Raised In Grassroots Effort to Reduce Second Grade Class Size
Support for the donation fund is gaining momentum on the heels of the recent decision to reduce first grade class sizes.
By Autumn Johnson
Parents in the Pleasanton Unified School District are leading a crusade to drop class sizes for second graders. A grassroots effort to reduce the current class sizes of 30 to 1 down to 25 to 1 for second graders in the district for the 2013-2014 school year has raised $28,445.
Just recently, the school board voted to reduce the class sizes for first graders from 30 to 1 down to 25 to 1. The May 14 decision was made possible with the supplemental funds provided by the Pleasanton Partner's in Eduction Giving Fund.
[Related article: Smaller Class Sizes For Pleasanton First Graders]
The class size reduction for first graders now opens the door for the class sizes to be reduced for second graders. According to the California Department of Education website, which establishes the order required for class sizes being reduced, once the first grade classes have been reduced, the second grade classes may be reduced, if the funds are available.
The pledge goal is $325,000 for second grade class size reduction, Pleasanton parent Emmeline Chen said. Chen, who is spearheading the initiative, plans to attend the May 28 school board meeting, along with other parents, to plead their case and to ask that class size reduction be added to the next board agenda, which will be the last school board meeting before summer break.
Chen says the $325,000 needed is less than the actual cost of class size reduction because the California State Department of Education will contribute funds for class size reduction if class ratios are reduced to at least 25:1 district wide.
"We would love to return to 20:1 [ratio], but we recognize that this would be almost impossible in today's budget climate," Chen said. "If the district is able to restore 25:1 class sizes for 2nd grade, we will ask them to then restore 25:1 class sizes in kindergarten and third."
Chen has posted further information about the campaign on a CSR blog.
As of May 23, the website had garnered $28,445 from 67 individuals and families in Pleasanton. According to the blog, the fund has also received also received $4,300 in pledges for kindergarten class size reduction and $3,525 in pledges for third grade class size reduction.The blog shows the most recent break-down of donors:
- 1 Alisal family
- 8 Donlon families
- 1 Fairlands family
- 11 Hearst families
- 1 Lydiksen family
- 5 Mohr families
- 5 Valley View families
- 10 Vintage Hills families
- 24 Walnut Grove teachers/families
- 1 community member not affiliated with a school site
Dear friends,Thank you for your efforts in spreading the news about the pledge campaign for 2nd grade CSR in 2013-14.
New website with online pledge form:
To facilitate information-sharing, we have put together a very simple website that contains information about the campaign and an online pledge form: pleasantoncsr.blogspot.com
Please let me know if you have any difficulties accessing the site or pledge form. You can also access the pledge form directly at this URL: http://goo.gl/ZYRtgPlease continue to help spread the word about this pledge campaign to your family and friends, and please urge everyone to make their pledges ASAP.
Thank you so much to everyone who has sent in their pledges and also to everyone who already donated to the PPIE Giving Fund this year. Your support is truly making a difference!Please keep spreading the word. While the campaign is off to a great start, we still need your help to let others know about this pledge campaign. The next school board meeting is on Tuesday, May 28. Even if we are not able to reach our pledge goal of $325,000 to restore 2nd grade CSR for 2013-14, we would like to be able to show the school board that we have strong support for elementary CSR from all 9 elementary school sites.
Will you please help us in this effort? And if you have already emailed your friends about this campaign, could you please let them know about the new website and online pledge form?
As always, thanks for reading and for being parents, teachers, and neighbors who care deeply about our kids, our community, and education. Emmeline
What do you think about the efforts to reduce the class sizes in Pleasanton? Have you contributed?
Patch us your thoughts in the comments section below.
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