MISSOULA — Parents at Lewis and Clark Elementary are concerned that cutting third grade classes from three to two will negatively impact their childrens’ education.
“Their core classrooms are where they do all of their learning. And so if that is a place where they feel dis-regulated and anxious and stressed, everything else is going to suffer," parent Hillary Logan said.
Logan and Kelci Kuntz will both have third graders next year. They recently learned Lewis and Clark Elementary will have one less third grade teacher which would consolidate classes.
"They will have now 30 plus kids in each classroom and this decision has already been done, it's already been made. We only found out about it through somebody else and there's been no public announcement made. So, we are now just fighting to reverse it," Logan said.
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Both parents worry that larger classes will detract from learning. That’s why they spoke at the Missoula County School Board meeting Tuesday night.
"My kid gets very overwhelmed. I think he gets upset when he feels like he's not learning when he feels like the teacher's attention is divided. And that's what's going to happen here is if there's over 30 kids, so much of the time is going to be spent regulating emotions and social interactions and academics are going to be pushed aside," Logan explained.
"These kids are the kids that missed out on a year of preschool because of COVID. So, they started their school career already behind academically and socially, emotionally. The children are not going to be getting the care and attention that they are going to require," Kuntz said.
"Third grade is also a time where most girls start to get noticed that they have ADHD or other neurological differences. And those might get missed even further when these classes are so big that the teachers just don't have the bandwidth to notice those differences because oftentimes, those girls, they don't present the same way that boys do with ADHD," Kuntz added.
According to Montana State Regulations, 28 students is the cap for third and fourth grades. If classrooms exceed that number then extra measures must be taken.
"Then they will be needing to hire a full time para for each classroom for the day. And I don't understand logistically and salary wise how hiring two paras, you know, is less money than just one solid teacher salary," Kuntz told MTN.
Superintendent Micah Hill said during the meeting he appreciated all the public comment on the topic and that he doesn’t take the decision lightly but ultimately decreased enrollment district wide means budget constraints.
"To those that were here thank you for your advocacy on behalf of your students and our staff and that we appreciate you and recognize you and hopefully you understand the decisions that were faced with they're not easy," Hill said during the board meeting.
We’ll continue to follow up on this story.
