For Immediate Release
UFT survey estimates 200,000 students in overcrowded classes
Sep 24, 2009 12:16 PM
Queens schools hit hardest
While the Department of Education has made some progress, 6,749 oversized classes still remain in New York City, with almost 3,500 such classes in Queens alone.
Of the 6,749 overcrowded classes, more than 1,600 were in the city’s elementary and intermediate schools and 5,146 were in high schools. The survey by the UFT estimates that about 202,000 students are still in an overcrowded class for all or part of each day. The number of oversize classes has declined less than 10 percent from the UFT’s initial finding last week of a total of 7,419.
“Since issuing our initial findings there are still thousands of kids in overcrowded classrooms,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew. “The Department of Education must get overcrowding down so teachers can give our kids the individual attention they need.”
In September of 2008 the total number of oversize classes at this point in the school year was 5,913.
Breakdown by borough
Queens high schools had 3,429 oversize classes, while BASIS (a combination of Staten Island and some Brooklyn high schools) had 515 oversize classes. The number was 401 for Manhattan high schools, 594 for other Brooklyn high schools, and 207 for Bronx high schools.
Among the most crowded high schools in the city were Richmond Hill (Queens, 353 violations); Benjamin Cardozo (Queens, 374 violations); Forest Hills (Queens, 384); Long Island City (Queens, 290 violations); Flushing (Queens, 295 violations); Midwood (Brooklyn, 275 violations).
Class size limits are: kindergarten — 25 students; grades 1 through 3 — 28 students; grades 4 through 6 — 32 students; junior high schools in high poverty areas — 30 students; other junior high schools — 33 students; high school — 34 students. The class size limits are established by DOE agreements with the UFT, along with state and City Council mandates.
Potential reasons for the increase in oversize classes this fall include budget cuts that reduced the number of teachers and programs at schools; the closure or phasing out of some schools, concentrating students in fewer buildings; and population increases in certain neighborhoods.
The estimate of students affected classes was based on an average of 30 students in each of the nearly 6,750 oversize classes.
