Mt. Laurel School District adds aides in response to large class sections at Fleetwood, Larchmont

After the board of education’s policy committee met for three hours earlier in October to discuss possible changes in class size, it made a recommendation to Superintendent Antoinette Rath at Tuesday night’s board of education meeting to add a full-time aide for the first grade in Fleetwood Elementary School and the first grade in Larchmont Elementary School. Both schools have a section of first grade with more than 23 students.

Rath already added a temporary aide to Fleetwood after the district’s last meeting on Sept. 23. At the meeting, a group of Fleetwood parents asked the board to consider changing its policy on class size after saying multiple class sections had more than 23 students.

Joanne Pelly, chair of the board’s policy committee, said Larchmont was recommended to receive an additional aide after it was found it had a first-grade section above the maximum of 23 students just as Fleetwood did.

“The recommendation is to have a permanent aide in both locations,” Pelly said. “We’re going to try to find equity in all schools as much as possible.”

Bethany Pacheco, the parent of a first-grade Fleetwood student, was one of those who spoke out at the Sept. 23 meeting. She was pleased with last week’s outcome, saying the addition of the temporary aide was a great solution until the school is able to hire an additional aide.

Pelly said they wanted to resolve the current situation as soon as possible rather than rush into a policy change. The committee is looking at possibly making changes to the policy later in the school year.

The committee has started reviewing its policy and seeing what other districts have done in recent years.

“We looked at policies at other districts, and then we looked at our own policy,” she said.

The district’s current policy sets the maximum number of students in a class section at 23 at the elementary school level. Prior to Aug. 21, extra class sections can be added if a section is higher than the maximum. After Aug. 21, the district can add aides to a classroom if the number of students is more than 23.

Pelly said the committee is taking a look at the Aug. 21 deadline. She said many class sizes change dramatically after the deadline as new students are frequently enrolled in the days leading up to school.

Jane Smith, the parent of a fourth grader at Fleetwood, said she remains concerned about large class sizes at that level. She asked the board if it plans to add an aide for the fourth grade this year.

Rath said the district will take a look at class sizes throughout the year. The district’s enrollment report for October did not have any Fleetwood fourth-grade classes with more than 23 students.

Rath said the addition of aides was necessary because of the class sizes. She also noted class sizes are continuously reviewed, as they can change as students move in and out of the district during the year.