By Michaela Schmitz, staff writer
While students adjust to another new school year at Indian Trail High School & Academy, some are coping with what they feel are crowded classes, especially for the student that ar- rived from a much smaller school.
“It was hard coming from a school with only 11 students per class and 105 students per grade, to a school with tons of students,” said Indian Trail Freshman Kaitlyn Scheiber.
According to The Center for Public Education, an initiative of the National School Boards Association that provides up-to-date research and information to community leaders and policy makers, classes of 13-17 students should be taught by one teacher. Larger classes, such as 22-26 students, should have a teacher aid as well, the center recommends. Some classes at Indian Trail have student counts in the 30s.
“Class sizes of larger proportion don’t allow teachers to give students one-on-one interac- tion with students,” said Brianna Kirnbauer, an Indian Trail senior.
While school officials work to reduce class sizes with limited budgets and a student popu- lation of more than 2,200 students, the task can be challenging.
Pam Shore, an Indian Trail security guard runs one of the student seminars, where stu- dents are assigned to study and complete other class work. The seminars house larger num- bers of students.
“I’m responsible for knowing where and what 80 to 90 students are doing at all times in case of emergency situations. The problem is that most of these students don’t come here to study, they are only here to socialize,” Shore said.
“The few that do study or want to be transferred into another classroom cannot, due to classes being too full at the start,” said Shore.
The district makes staffing decisions based on student enrollment figures, and this year’s projections came in close to what district officials expected.
“The district provides a certain number of teachers based on student enrollment. Current- ly, we are only about 10 students over our projections for the year, so we will not be receiving additional teachers. That being said, class sizes should settle and not grow,” said Indian Trail Principal Maria Kotz.
Students can take several steps if they are having a difficult time adjusting to larger classes.
“Some advice for students struggling in larger class sizes right now would be to start by talking to your teacher, changing your seat, seeking after school tutoring or a last resort of contacting your counselor or one of the assistant principals,” Kotz said.