School class size has been a big issue in Alberta recently. Is smaller better?

You'd better believe it, say two elementary school teachers who have taught classes ranging from 18 to 31 students over the past two years.

Gail Berkner is a Grade 3 teacher at Dapp Elementary School, which serves a large rural community from the hamlet of Dapp, just north of Westlock. Last year she taught what she calls "an ideal Grade 3 class" with only 21 students.

But a class of 29 students the previous year proved a challenge for Berkner. She had to prepare individualized programs for 16 students, all of whom had specialized needs. This did not include the day-to-day discipline issues for students with behavioural problems.

"That didn't leave a whole lot of time for the middle students," Berkner says. "But we made it work. We survived."

Berkner says she couldn't have done it without a "very supportive administration." Also, the autistic children and the severe behaviour child came with special funding for teachers' aides. But she still worked six-day weeks to fit everything in. Berkner stresses that the challenges she faced were not unusual for teachers everywhere. "I know that my situation was not, by far, the worst."

Laura Letts, a Grade 1 teacher at Dapp Elementary, noticed a considerable difference when she went from 20 students one year to 31 last year. "Generally, the larger the class, the more issues you have to deal with regarding both learning and behaviour. What is frustrating is that some children have high needs but not high enough to meet the criteria for funding." Letts says that despite the support of administration and having support systems in place to help alleviate some of the
load, "it is still by no means an ideal learning environment."

A recent pilot project undertaken by Edmonton Public Schools in partnership with Alberta Learning and the University of Alberta examined the impact of small classes at the Grade 1 level in 10 high-needs schools in Edmonton. At midyear, classes were reduced from nearly 30 students to 15 or fewer, with generally positive results. The researchers reported that many students made remarkable progress in achievement and behaviour and teachers observed that many of the students displayed better than expected growth.

One student, for example, entered Grade 1 in the fall speaking little English and was reticent for the first half of the year. In January, when the teacher's class was reduced from 29 to 15 students, she noted major changes. With more opportunity for individual attention, the child moved from pre-primer to Grade 2 level in reading and achieved excellence in writing at Grade 1 level by June. She was also "developing into a leader," her teacher reported. "This student very quickly changed when the group got smaller."

This would come as no surprise to Letts, who, along with her colleagues, strongly advocates smaller classes in the primary grades. She says she is encouraged that the government is taking steps towards mandating this. "May we always be reminded that in the early years of a child's life, we are laying the foundation for lifelong learning," says Letts. "Let's make wise decisions for their futures."