Tuscan School parents plan to protest the overcrowding at their school at the next Board of Education meeting on Monday, Oct.
19. Several parents said they hoped to get dozens of others to show up
and tell the school board about what the overcrowding has done to everything from class size to lunchtime eating hours and
playground discipline.
Several parents took their concerns to Principal
Malikah Majeed on Tuesday at her regular Principal's roundtable. Among the concerns was the count of 24 students in four of
the five kindergarten classes, with 17 in the fifth class in a portable classroom.
"My concern is where is the plan," said one parent, asking the principal. "We don't have space because
we are overcrowded."
Another
added, "It is unfair to the teachers, too." Noting that the school has at least a dozen or so students who are zoned
for other schools but have been allowed to attend Tuscan, a parent stated: "We should be accounting for the fact that
a parent waits until the last minute," to enroll, as has occurred this year. Others claim they have heard that as many
as 50 students have enrolled at Tuscan from other school areas. Majeed denied that number.
Majeed listened, but sought to defend the situation, noting that
the district knows Tuscan is the smallest school in the district, but stressed: "Teacher quality is important. I would
rather have a larger class with outstanding teachers."
PTA President Dede Lackey also attended the meeting, but said afterward only that "there
is overcrowding."
Tuscan's
population has grown from 594 students during last school year to 625 this school year, making it the most-populated grade
school after South Mountain -- which has two locations. As the smallest square-foot school, that impact is felt more than
ever.
Tuscan has just 61 students less than South Orange Middle School, as shown by district population data below:
School 2008-09 2009-10
CHS 1815
1861
MMS
718 734
SOMS
655 686
Clinton
462 488
Jefferson
438 432
Marshall
447 461
Seth Boyden 489 525
South Mountain 578 627
Tuscan
594 625
The entire district enrollment had increased this year by more than 200 students. As of Sept. 1, the district-wide
enrollment is 6,437. That is up from 6,232 at the same date last year.
Part of the push has been the move to full-day
kindergarten district-wide. But with Tuscan, it appears to have affected things more than anywhere else.
Tuscan
has five, full-day kindergarten classes for its 113 kindergarten students. Last year, the school had 100 kindergarten students,
with three full-day classes of 69 students and two half-day classes of 31.
The enrollment for kindergarten at
Tuscan was originally projected at 87 for this year.
This year, the kindergarten is broken down into five classes,
with one in a portable classroom that holds only 17 students. Due to that limitation, the other four kindergarten classes
have 24 students each, two more each than district policy recommends.
The school has also had to turn away at
least two students to other district schools.
In addition, two of the kindergarten classes must share a bathroom,
providing one bathroom for 48 students. District policy requires that
kindergarteners have their own bathroom.
The portable classroom also has a bathroom.
The district policy states class size limits should be the following:
Kindergarten -22
First Grade - 22
Second Grade - 23
Third Grade - 24
Fourth Grade - 26
Fifth Grade - 26
Some parents, and students, contend they have less time for lunch. School officials
say they have the same number of lunch periods - six - as they did in 2008-2009.
That schedule is as follows:
1st grade 11-11:55
2nd grade 11:25-12:20
3rd grade 12:30-1:25
4th grade 11:50-12:45
5th grade 12:10-1:05
kindergarten 12:55-1:50
But with more all-day students, and a higher population overall, that means more students moving through the lines.
