By:Jason Scheer
A half-dozen parents addressed the school board during the public participation session of the meeting, held Sept. 14 in the Malverne High School Library.
Diane Southard, whose daughter, Cloe, is in Ms. Crawford's class, was the first parent to speak up. Crawford's class has 28 students. "Third grade is a transition grade," Southard said. "There's a big jump between second and third grade. The work load increases substantially, and many new skills will be taught ... but when there are 28 students in the class, I don't know how much education my daughter is going to be getting."
Southard also asked other parents who shared her beliefs to stand up, prompting nearly 25 people in the crowded library to get up out of their chairs. Southard then warned that by failing to address the class size issue, the district faces the very real possibility of losing the support of concerned parents like the ones who showed up for the meeting.
Southard also charged that the district was not meeting the needs of one special-needs child in the school's third grade inclusion class.
David McDermott, who has two children in the Downing school, including one in third grade, echoed Southard's concerns. He said he visited his child's classroom for a conference and was shocked at how crowded the room was. "[The students'] desks are on top of each other," he said. "I could not believe what the kids are dealing with."
Other parents voiced opposition to the fact that third-graders who attend the Davison Avenue school did not have larger classrooms.
Dr. Mary Ellen Freeley, Malverne's superintendent of schools, said that enrollment numbers tend to fluctuate at the beginning of the school year. She said that a class that started with 28 students will now have 26, and the inclusion class, which had 26 students, including a special-ed. student, will have 24. These numbers reflected the enrollment as of 4 p.m. on the day of the board meeting, and had not yet been finalized.
Freeley also said that the administration is aware of the overcrowding problem and has taken measures to ensure that the children's education will not suffer. "When we became aware that there would be larger classes at the third-grade level, we immediately put two monitors in those classes -- a morning and an afternoon monitor," she said. "Although monitors cannot instruct, they can assist the teacher, [enabling the] teacher to give instruction to smaller groups of students."
Freeley said that the administration would make every effort to remove extraneous objects, like filing cabinets and extra closets, in order to maximize instructional space. The parents, unhappy with these measures, said that the only acceptable solution would be to add a third class and make use of an empty room in the school.
Southard, speaking on behalf of many of the parents in attendance, said that a new teacher must be added soon, because delaying action would impede students' ability to learn.
On the matter of adding another teacher, Freeley said that doing so would be difficult because of financial constraints. "We have to work within the budget," she said.
After the meeting, the school board convened to executive session for further discussion.
Comments about this story? JScheer@liherald.com or 569-4000 ext. 282.
