What is the purpose of “special area” teachers and how are the numbers of such personnel determined?
“Special area” teachers include teachers of art, computer science, the performing arts (including music, theatre and drama presentation skills education), world language and physical education. These “special area” teachers are essential for maintaining our commitment to giving all our students opportunities to explore their interests in the many facets of those critical areas that are not narrowly defined as “academics.” These special area subjects are as important to our students as the academic areas, as they serve a vital role either in preparing our students to be valued contributing members of our society; enabling them to explore future career options; or, providing them with lifelong skills that will permit them to be more well-rounded citizens. At the elementary level, the numbers of such personnel are determined by ratios that reflect the numbers of students and the numbers of meeting times and hours in which students are to be scheduled for these activities each week. At the
