KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
Class sizes in the William S.Hart Union High School District will be smaller for the 2016-17 school year — reduced by an average of one student per class, according to district officials.
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“We’re going to be able to bring down class sizes,” said Hart district PIO Dave Caldwell.
He added that the ratio varied across the different locations and by the subject at the schools, but that on average across the district, the ratio between students and teachers would decrease.
This is the second consecutive reduction in class sizes, which district officials have been trying to achieve since the onset of the Great Recession, which slashed education budgets across the state.
“We had to raise class size by three (students per teacher),” he said.
The student-to-teacher ratio were as high as 35:1 at the junior high school level and 36:1 at the high school level due to budget cuts.
However, with the economy recovering, the district has been able to bring that number back down, Caldwell said.
Another benefit of the improved economy is a potential increase in pay that is being negotiated by Hart District Teacher’s Association, which is currently being examined by Hart district officials.
Get live news updates about Santa Clarita by following KHTS on Facebook and KHTS on Twitter“This past school year, we reduced (the ratio) by two,” said Caldwell. “In the upcoming year, we’re going to lower it by one, to get it back to where it was.”
For the upcoming school year, the junior high school classes will average at a 32:1 ratio with the high school classes averaging at 33:1.
This is possible due to a variety of factors, and although more teachers are being hired by the district, Caldwell stressed that the relationship was not purely “one leads to the other.”
Every year, he said, the district looks at enrollment numbers to determine the staff needed at each school.
“This is an annual thing (that) we look at,” he said. “What is our staffing need.”
One of the driving factors for the lower class sizes is what Caldwell called a “slight decrease” in the number of students entering the district.
“There has been a slight decrease in enrollment,” Caldwell said. “(But there are) so many different factors that go into it.”
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There is something bothering me more than class size. As a father of 5 and having kids in elementary and high school I do not appreciate the lgbt propaganda in our schools. I am aware of the large belief of the lgbt faith and I am not against anyone who believes in this that is there right as an american to live and practice what they believe. I say believe in because I feel the lgbt falls more in the category of a new way of life or belief just as Scientology got recognised as a new faith and lifestyle rather than a new ethnic group because it is not a new race at all. Again I am not against the lgbt people but as a faith or belief or even a religion I do not feel it should be advertised and publicized in our children’s school I have my children bringing home lgbt propaganda and talking about the lgbt belief or lifestyle questioning their own sexuality. why do we publicise and promote the lgbt way of life in out schools I do not understand why. Just as other practises of faith belief and religion i feel they should practice and promote it after and out of school so my children don’t have to question their sexualty, please school and teen life is hard enough already.
Another thing that has been bothering me about the preschool my son attends is the strong Hispanic accent his teacher has she is the nicest sweetest lady and the kids love her but how can a teacher with such a strong accent teach kids how to pronounce their English letters and words. For example the teacher had my son write a sentace and he did good and was happy to bring it home it said “I make flute” we tried for a bit to figure what he meant by it and my son said in class we made a flute. I’m not an English teacher but what she should have had him write was “I made a flute”. There is a Hispanic teachers aid that speaks both languages fluently with no accent in other words she pronounces perfect English I feel she should be the one teaching these kids how to read and write English not the teacher that cannot speak or pronounce the words correctly herself. She is a nice teacher but they should have her teach an older class that already knows how to properly pronounce their words and letters.