How will you enhance education programs and student achievement with regard to lowering maximum class size?
I will push to reduce class sizes because the interaction between student and teacher is crucial to the learning process. Unfortunately, we will have to increase the overall funding for our schools before we make headway in lowering class sizes. The most cost-effective and instructionally sound approach is to lower the overall system average and allow small variances from class to class to avoid splitting classes during the years and having some classes that are disproportionately small. As we begin to lower class sizes again, I will focus on the early grades. I also see the educational advantages of the blended class model in which the number of students is lowered to reflect the percentage of disadvantaged students. The action that the State Board of Education has taken in abandoning any limits on class sizes is a sad commentary on the lack of leadership by the State in education.
