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