Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 13, 1993 TAG: 9304130354
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BROOKE STEPHENS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
ROANOKE SCHOOLS NEEDED: SMALLER CLASSES, HIGHER PAY
THE ROANOKE School Board and City Council should make smaller class size in the city schools, especially kindergarten through third grade, a top priority for funding.As any good private school will show, the two main factors that can most directly enhance and improve a child's learning experience in the classroom are class size (teacher-to-student ratio) and the skill and experience of the teacher.
Many studies have indicated that children in smaller classes are at a definite advantage, especially in the early grades.
A study called Project Star, conducted by the Tennessee Department of Education in association with Tennessee State University, examined the achievement of children in kindergarten through third grade in classes of different sizes: small classes (13 to 17 students) and regular classes (22 to 25 students). Children in the smaller classes performed at a significantly higher level on standardized math and reading tests; low-income children showed the greatest benefit.
The National Association for the Education of Young Children, the largest American early-childhood professional organization, recommends for 5-year-olds a class size not larger than 20, with one adult for every 10 children. For 6- to 8-year-olds, it recommends classes not larger than 24 students, with one adult for every 12 children.
Roanoke's School Board and council should work to implement these goals, with every kindergarten class in the city having no more than 20 students with one teacher and one teacher's aide; and for grades one through three, classes of no more than 24 students with one teacher and one teacher's aide.
Investment in early education, as Head Start has demonstrated, makes good economic sense. By investing in education in the early grades, we have the greatest chance of helping children achieve academic success that will be critical in determining their later academic and job performance.
Kindergarten through third grade are crucial years in a child's academic life - a window of opportunity when we can make a real difference. This is the time when children are learning to read and to understand basic math concepts. If a child successfully masters these vital skills during these early grades, the likelihood of future academic success and career achievement are greatly increased.
We can spend money on elementary education now or, as we are already seeing, we will be spending more and more money in the future on prisons, jails, welfare, social services, remedial classes for high-school and college students, drop-out prevention programs, etc.
The other factor, besides small class size, that can enhance a child's learning experience and achievement in the early grades is the talent of teachers and teacher's aides. To attract and keep the best teachers and aides, we must pay salaries that are at least competitive with salaries paid by nearby localities.
This we have failed to do, and the pay for city teachers now ranks behind that of teachers in Roanoke County and Salem.
It would be nice if money didn't matter, but it does. You get what you pay for. To get what is required to ensure excellence in elementary education - skilled teachers and small class size - City Council must make these needs funding priorities.
If City Council does not allocate funds in ways that reflect a deep support of, and commitment to, excellence in our schools, then more and more middle- and upper-middle-class families with children will move out of the city, further eroding our tax base, reducing tax revenues and creating a downward economic spiral for the city.
Brooke Stephens of Roanoke is a volunteer for the city elementary school her child attends.