Testimonies from parents, teachers, and students about the importance of reducing class size | Class Size Matters

Testimonies from parents, teachers, and students about the importance of reducing class size | Class Size Matters | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes

Testimonies from parents, teachers, and students about the importance of reducing class size

On Friday, Feb. 28, 2020, parents, students, educators and advocates testified on the importance of reducing class size at City Hall hearings of the NYC Education Committee, chaired by Council Member Mark Treyger. Below are links to written statements of some of these testimonies. Video testimony can be found here.

Regent Kathy Cashin testifies how when she was Superintendent of District 23 in Brooklyn, she reduced class size, and this completely transformed her schools, causing them to make the greatest gains in achievement in the entire city.  She says that when you reduce class size, the “whole world changes”  for both students and teachers.

Lorraie Forbes and Tiffani Torres, high school students from Teens Take Charge, speak out about how their experience of large classes caused them to struggle and miss out on the chance to excel.   As Lorraie put it, “I feel as if my fellow students and I are being robbed of the opportunity to be as big as we can be.”  

Curtis D. Young, member of CB12 Youth and Education Committee and Executive Director of Artistic Noise, a juvenile justice nonprofit,  testifies that large class sizes contribute to high suspension rates and the school-to-prison pipeline for young black boys.

Shino Tanikawa, a NYC public school parent leader, member of the Fair Student Funding task force, and member of the School Diversity Advisory Group, speaks about how the DOE’s funding system incentivizes principals to overcrowd their schools and classrooms.  She points out that for integration to be truly successful, class sizes should be small to allow teachers to reach their students whatever their backgrounds, both culturally and academically.

Karen Sprowal, a NYC parent, explains how her son struggled in his public school because of the large class sizes.  She finally transferred him to a private school with smaller classes, costing the city $93,000 in tuition per year. As Karen put it, “Even as class size reduction may be costly, I would like the DOE and our elected officials to think about the costs of NOT lowering class size.”

Leonie Haimson, Executive Director of Class Size Matters,  describes how PS 25, a small school in Bed Stuy, outperforms the city average in achievement, even though it is composed of 100% students in poverty, 31% with disabilities, and 22% homeless.   How?  It has very small class sizes and thus acts as a natural experiment for what class size reduction could achieve in the city as a whole.

Lori Podvesker, director of education policy at INCLUDEnyc, explores how important smaller classes are for students with disabilities, a teacher’s ability to provide student-centered instruction, and effective classroom management.

Randi Levine, project director at Advocates for Children of New York, testifies that families,  CONTINUE READING: Testimonies from parents, teachers, and students about the importance of reducing class size | Class Size Matters | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes