Posted on 02/18/2016 12:50:08 PM PST by MichCapCon
The Detroit Public Schools teacher sickouts have received national media attention for the poor conditions in which teachers say they must work. However, the claims of overcrowding in the classrooms appear to be baseless, according to class size information received from the school district under a Freedom of Information Act request.
Media reports have parents, teachers and union officials claiming classes of more than 40 students are common.
But the average, or mean, classroom size in Detroit Public Schools is 22.45 students, with the median class size at 24. The records cover 11,588 individual classes at the start of the 2015-16 school year. Of these, 562 classes — including gym classes — have 40 or more students. That's just 4.8 percent of all classes.
Classroom
By comparison, Saginaw Public School District has an average class size of 21.28 students and a median of 23. Saginaw’s data was also provided in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.
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Sign me up! “This is another myth that has been shattered,†said Gary Naeyaert, the executive director of the Great Lakes Education Project. “The class sizes are within the range of normal and what we would expect from any school system.â€
The largest class in DPS was 92 students. That was a math class at Carstens Elementary-Middle School. Classes that large often are assigned multiple teachers.
Detroit Federation of Teachers administrator Ann Mitchell told ABC News teachers were upset about “bulging†classrooms.
In January, students at DPS’ Cass Tech High School walked out in support of teachers who skipped school, according to CBS Detroit. The students claimed there that were too many students in classrooms. A news report quoted a parent as saying the classes had too many students.
Cass Tech has an average class size of 28.83 students and a median size of 33 students. The only classes at Cass Tech with 50 students or more are in gym, marching band or classes for team sports.
Officials with the Detroit Federation of Teachers didn’t return emails seeking comment. The Detroit Public Schools also didn’t comment.
Back in my day, when we rode dinosaurs to school, all our classes were from 35 to 40 students.
Today, we’re paying outlandish school taxes to have a max of 17 students per classroom. Have to keep the low number of students so they can all sit around big round tables to cheat off each other rather than sit in separate desks so most could do their own work rather than a group effort (i.e. participation ribbon!).
I am a product of the Detroit Public Schools, graduating in 1974. My grade school classes were often around 40 students, with the most being 42, if I recall. I bet we were relatively well behaved and with relatively stable home situations, too.
No, we have to have smaller classes because parents don’t teach their children to behave and do their work. I have been threatened to be killed a couple times and I don’t work in Detroit! By no means am I arguing for what these liberal teachers are doing, I am just adding a bit of real world experience. :)
I taught in Boston in the mid 50s.
My first grade class had 39 children and I was a new teacher.
Everything worked out well because we had parental support (not meddling ) and the kids behaved.
If good conduct is maintained a large enrollment is no problem.
.
Many must be skipping school. And that is probably OK since the programs are so bad.
If Detroit public school system kicked out the 20 year old sophomores they’d likely have even more room.
What school? I was Denby, 1968
Don’t the kids actually have to show up in order for the classroom to be crowded?
That’s the difference.
The Great Society destroyed the black family structure.
70 to 75 percent of kids without married parents.
Not difficult to understand how this wrecks society.
Osborn 1981.
See my post #13. Redford! Home of the Huskies!
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