‘Go all out’ to achieve class size reduction

When it comes to lowering class sizes in their schools, teachers from Queens, the city’s most crowded borough, said the benefits of doing so were seen almost immediately, and they encouraged their colleagues to stay the course in pressing school leadership to do the work.

That was the consensus of the morning town hall meeting, moderated by UFT President Michael Mulgrew, that brought together a panel of three Queens teachers — one at a fully compliant school, one somewhere in the middle, and one whose school was just beginning the journey to smaller class sizes — who shared their experiences from the trenches.

Anthony Nicoletti is the chapter leader and a social studies teacher at IS 125 in Woodside. His school is fully compliant, with 23 students per classroom. The difference that has made in terms of discipline and classroom management, especially in a middle school like his, is palpable. “It’s amazing,” he said. “You can see the difference in the kids. Our suspension numbers are way down.”

Nicoletti said his school was looking to keep its grades 6, 7 and 8 in compliance and looking forward to bringing more creativity with smaller class sizes a reality. “What kind of interesting things can we do with smaller classes that makes school a place that kids want to come to and are excited about being there?” he said. “That’s the real win with small class sizes.”

Chapter Leader Sheryl Dixon’s school, PS 95 in Jamaica, is at the beginning of its class size journey, addressing only kindergarten class size this school year.

PS 95 has a large student body, serving just under 1,000 students in kindergarten through 5th grade. Even just one grade in compliance is a game-changer.

“I stood there inside a classroom and thought, ‘Where are the rest of the students?,’ then I said, ‘Oh yeah, lower class size,’” marveled Dixon, who assisted with her school’s class size funding application and worked on identifying areas of additional space. “Physically, you can see the change right away.”

Reducing class size helps teachers build stronger and better relationships with students. “You’re creating an environment that’s ripe for growth for the students and the teacher,” said Nicoletti.

Shantae Jones, the chapter leader of PS 135 in Queens Village, whose class size journey is somewhere in the middle, agreed.

“We want our students to learn in the most optimal environment. We’re giving the kids the best shot” with smaller class sizes, Jones said. “Behaviors have gone down, Tier 3 intervention has decreased. Teachers have been looking at this a long, long time.”

Overcoming principals’ doubts about the permanence or availability of funding to support smaller class sizes can be a challenge, said Mulgrew, who asked panelists how they overcame that.

“Go back to principals and say ‘It’s being done, I’ve seen someone that went all in. Let’s try something different,’” Jones advised. “But don’t stay stagnant. This is too important for our students’ well-being.”