Class Size

Gary Moskowitz The Glendale Unified School District will have to change its class-size reduction program in order to keep it, possibly by cutting staff to save money. Glendale Unified, by participating in the state's class-size reduction program, must maintain a 20:1 student-to-teacher ratio in all kindergarten through third-grade classrooms and in ninth-grade English and math classrooms. The district receives more than $6 million annually in state funds to operate the class-size reduction program, but pays out more than $2 million of its own money to fully fund the program.

Whether California's popular and highly effective class-size reduction program will survive the state's current budget crisis should be of grave concern to all parents with children in the state's public schools. Glendale Council PTA -- with more than 9,500 members at 26 district schools -- believes a flexible approach to class-size reduction implementation is the best way to maintain continuation of this program and its benefits for the maximum number of students.

GLENDALE — With few unilateral cost saving measures remaining, Glendale Unified School District Board of Education members are poised to increase kindergarten through third-grade class sizes for the 2010-11 school year. Classes could see an increased ratio of no more than 30-to-1, up from an average of 24 students to every teacher. The measure does not require negotiations with employee groups, and would save the district an estimated $6.5 million every year, officials said.

Gary Moskowitz School board members later this month could decide the fate of class-size reduction and year-round education in the Glendale Unified School District. Board clerk Mary Boger, during Tuesday's Board of Education meeting, asked district staff to submit a report at the board's Nov. 18 meeting that would explain the costs associated with each program, saying the board needed to see information in "black and white" to decide if both programs can be sustained next year.

I must comment on a quote attributed to me that appeared in the News-Press article on kindergarten class size on Jan. 22. It is fair to say that two words were left out -- "in kindergarten." The absence of those two words completely changes the meaning of my statement. The proposal before the Glendale school board is to modify the CSR program at the kindergarten level, not eliminate it. I commented that making an adjustment at one grade level (kindergarten)

Gary Moskowitz GLENDALE -- With $1.6 million each year going toward class-size reduction in kindergarten through third grades, and budgets getting tighter by the year, Glendale Unified School District officials are asking themselves a tough question: How long can we keep up? Faced with cutting $4.2 million from the 2001-02 district budget and more cuts expected in 2002-03, school board President Chuck Sambar is saying class-size reduction will be on the table as the district plans for the 2003-04 school year.

The Glendale Unified school board might end up being the victim of its own success, at least at a couple of schools, if the district's well-regarded class-size reduction program has to be dropped next year because of budget cuts. Board member Greg Krikorian recently expressed concern that two schools -- Edison Elementary, which is in a new, just-opened facility across the street from the former Edison site, and the remodeled Cerritos Elementary -- were modernized with reduced class sizes in mind.

GLENDALE — Increasing class size in early education, which the Glendale Unified School District Board of Education is expected to approve Tuesday, could cause lasting damage to student achievement and behavior, education experts said. Board members are grappling with a projected $18.5-million deficit in 2011-12, and in the coming weeks will likely register a “troubled budget,” which triggers greater regulation and oversight by the Los Angeles County Office of Education.

Gary Moskowitz GLENDALE -- The school district, with a little help from the federal government, will hold to its promise of keeping class sizes down in kindergarten through third grade and in ninth-grade English and math classes. The board on Tuesday acknowledged its intent to use $1 million in class-size reduction federal funding. The K-3 class-size reduction program maintains student-to-teacher classroom ratios at 20-1. To keep within those guidelines, the district must keep the classes at about 19-1 to account for increasing enrollment.

Gary Moskowitz Glendale Unified School District officials say class-size reduction and year-round education for the 2004-05 school year could be on the chopping block because of the rising cost of both programs and declining enrollment. The district will consider dropping year-round classes if it loses class-size reduction, Supt. Jim Brown said Friday. Schools that participate in class-size reduction have to maintain a ratio of 20 students to one teacher in each classroom.

Please forgive me for not making my point clear (“ No need for Glendale school board changes ,” Mailbag, March 9). I am concerned that Jennifer Freemon would be ineffective on the school board because ethically, she would have to recuse herself from most of the issues that the board handles due to a material conflict of interest. Certainly, contract negotiations with the teachers union involve salary, work schedule, benefits and retirement funds. The school board will also be faced with many other issues that affect the work load of teachers, e.g. class size, teacher training and funding student elective programs.

Glendale Unified School District officials this week approved early retirement for 115 employees, allowing up to 125 others whose jobs were on the line to breathe a collective sigh of relief. Of the 115 individuals agreeing to leave the district, 61 of those are certified teachers whose positions will not be replaced. This is expected to save the GUSD $1.6 million in the first year, $4.7 million in three years and $7.9 million in five years, according to Maria Gandera, assistant superintendent of human resources.

The loss of 125 classroom teachers that Glendale Unified School District students will be facing next year was left out of the Nov. 3 editorial, " Union's position is a loss for students . " The district, in its first draft of the Race to the Top Grant, wrote, “researchers agree that teachers are the 'single most important factor in how much children learn (Calvin & Johnson, 2007).'” And yet, the district gets no criticism for its planned increase in K-3 class sizes of at least six students per classroom and another increase in class size, many already at or over 40 students, in secondary schools.

California must change course. In a recent survey of American chief executives, California ranked 50th in providing a business-friendly environment. Their finding: over-taxation and burdensome regulation, evidenced by the double-digit unemployment rate and the thousands of small businesses closing their doors. Instead of reversing the tide, current 43rd District Assembly member Mike Gatto has chosen to put liberal party politics and platforms ahead of the needs of his constituents by introducing AB 2540, which would further boost taxes on thousands of small businesses.

Glendale Unified officials this week said they are exploring options to develop online courses that could serve as an alternative, or supplement, to traditional classroom learning. Students already are permitted to take online courses for credit from accredited institutions, but only with pre-approval from school officials. Now the district is looking to develop its own online curriculum, Deputy Supt. John Garcia said. The first of two options would see Glendale Unified teachers writing and teaching their own online classes, he said.

While reading the Sunday edition, I came across two articles about the proposed Americana at Brand expansion. One was a full-page ad saying that Glendale faces an $8-million deficit this year with threats to services like police, fire and parks. Then it goes on to say that the Americana has generated more than $3 million in revenue. Now they want to take away a small piece of property with a motel on it and add it to the Americana, (saying by doing this the city will get more revenue.

GLENDALE — The school board on Tuesday approved a $105,000 contract extension for an internal instructional program that remains unpopular with the Glendale Teachers Assn., with representatives calling it a waste of resources, especially amid district layoffs. Funding the educational development program, called Focus on Results, is part of a pattern of wasteful district spending, Glendale Teachers Assn. President Tami Carlson said. "This clearly shows what their priorities are, and that it's not for students, because teachers have been consistently telling them this program is not an effective one," she said.

GLENDALE — Days after Glendale Unified teachers rejected a revised contract that would have saved the district millions of dollars, school board members on Tuesday said increased class sizes were all but certain unless a last-minute deal was reached. Without a contract resolution for the district's roughly 1,350 teachers, board members said they could not commit to maintaining primary-grade class sizes at 25 students. "I'm very sorry we're not at a point where we can make that decision yet," board member Christine Walters said.

GLENDALE — School district officials are finalizing summer workshops to prepare primary-grade teachers for class sizes that could grow to include up to 30 students next year, officials said. Workshops are intended to help kindergarten through third-grade teachers maximize classroom organization and management, an increasingly vital skill as classes swell by as many as 10 additional students. "We're hoping with a strong foundation in the basics of organization, it will allow them to focus their time more on the actual teaching," said Kristine Siegal, who coordinates professional development for Glendale Unified School District.

Glendale Unified School District withdrew six teacher layoff notices Tuesday, made possible by transferring elementary school teachers to vacancies in middle and high schools. The move reduces the number of pink slips from 83 to 77. Another 15 elementary and secondary teachers are likely to see layoff notices rescinded in the next week or two, said John Garcia, assistant superintendent for human resources. “What we’ve done is, we’ve been looking at middle and high school staffing, and we can move those elementary teachers up,” he said.