Meeting Tonight for Albany Parents Concerned about K-3 Class Size

An ad hoc group of Albany school parents called "Committee of Concerned Parents" invites other parents to a meeting tonight, Wednesday, on class size in grades K-3.

"We are concerned about class size in the younger grades and hope to secure aides in these classrooms as soon as possible," said a recent message on the Marin Elementary School e-tree by Elizabeth Friedman Branoff, a co-founder of the parent-led group.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the University Village Community Center 1123 Jackson Street.

"The committee formed after the first week of school when parents realized how large class sizes were in the lower grades (27 to one teacher, with no aides)," Branoff said in an email response to a Patch query. "Class sizes have grown over the past few years as the state has cut funding. Albany, unlike Berkeley, does not have a parcel tax tied to class size so Berkeley has kept class sizes at 20."

Superintendent Marla Stephenson told Patch that the kindergarten class size in Albany is 22 and that the average class size for grades 1-3 is 26.7. 

Mark Coplan, spokesman for the Berkeley Unified School District, said the K-3 class size in Berkeley is 20, due largely to the funding from parcel taxes for what the district calls the Berkeley Schools Excellence Program (BSEP). He acknowledged that Berkeley is in a small minority of districts who've managed to keep class sizes small.

"In Albany," Branoff said, "there are a number of complicating factors including lack of space as student population has grown. The Albany Unified School District is working on a number of short and long-term solutions (including in the long-term, building renovations and rebuilding of schools). The Committee of Concerned Parents is largely focused on short-term solutions while these other long-term solutions are being discussed at other meetings. Both are important and need people to attend meeting and get involved."

She added, "We are really trying to work collaboratively with the School Board and School Superintendent. We want to be as helpful as possible as we explore all options."

--------------
Copyright © 2013 by Bay City News, Inc. – Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.