New teachers should be used to improve math and reading, not to reduce class sizes in crowded schools, according to the Atlanta Board of Education.
In a change of course, the board voted 7-2 late Monday night to dedicate 40 teachers it’s hiring to academic improvement instead of smaller classrooms.
Superintendent Erroll Davis attacked the school board for “micromanagement” over its decision last week to direct the teachers to ease school overcrowding, saying his administration should have been consulted.
“Put your money where your problems are. That’s my view,” Davis told the board. “Equalizing class sizes across this district is not a major educational problem, nor should it be our educational goal.”
The additional teachers will still reduce class sizes across the Atlanta school district by an average of one student per school, but they won’t necessarily be placed in schools with the largest classes.
The board had voted last week to distribute the teachers so that average class sizes would be no higher than 30 students in middle and high schools and 24 students in middle schools. The board on Monday changed those class-size guidelines from hard limits to flexible goals.
Board member Cecily Harsch-Kinnane said she thought the school board wanted to make a statement that class sizes wouldn’t rise above certain levels.
“I’m not saying that class size is the whole answer, but we do know that manageable class sizes make it easier for the professional in the building to address problems,” she said.
The board allocated $3.1 million in the school system’s 2013-2014 budget to pay for the 40 additional teachers. Without them, average class sizes would have stayed about the same.
But quality teachers — not smaller class sizes — are what make the biggest difference academically, said board member Courtney English.
“The research is crystal clear. The most important factor for student achievement in the classroom is having an effective teacher,” he said.
The teachers will provide reading assistance to elementary schools in need and lend math aid to struggling middle and high schools, said board Chairman Reuben McDaniel.
A resolution approved by the board calls for class sizes to be reduced to the board’s previously agreed-upon levels when practical.
“Class size is a part of improving academic performance, but there are other areas that the superintendent has identified that need attention,” McDaniel said.
The superintendent said education money should be used to help fix immediate problems of poor academic performance rather than the potential difficulties of large classes.
A parent of three Grady High School students told the board she wanted the additional teachers to help packed schools.
“Living in town is in high demand. The district and the Atlanta Board of Education seem blind to the fact that the entire Grady cluster needs overcrowding relief,” Abby Martin said. “Grady High School’s needs are not cosmetic. They are functional.”
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