Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 16 April 2011 — Page 22

Page 22 • The Muncie Times • April 16, 2011

The Judge’s Chambers

Cuttingclass sizes to balance budget budgets is not a smart choice

The struggling economy has, unfortunately, forced state and local govemmentsacross the country to make cuts in much-needed services and programs. The nation’s public schools have been hit particularly hard by these cuts. First,some districts reduced or completely eliminated physical education classes andarts programming, programming that has been proven to enhance student academicperformance. Then, others began to eliminate teachers, slowly growing classrooms sizes. Now, itseems even more school districts are looking to reduce the number of teacherson the payroll and combine classrooms... all in an effort to

save money. A recent article in The New York Times shed light onthis disturbing movement toward larger class sizes. According to the article, thesize of 11th and 12th grade classes in Los Angeles hasincreased by more than 40 students. Detroit is considering increasing the size of its high school classes to 60 students. Though school officials there say it’s unlikely classes will grow that large,it’s disturbing the conversation has even turned in that direction. It doesn’tend there. Georgia, Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin have all relaxed theirrestrictions on class size. Idaho and Texas are deciding whether they are

Judge Greg Mathis Chairman of the Rainbow PUSH- Excel Board and a national member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference

going to grow they’re classrooms. Those who see cutting back onteachers and increasing class sizes as a solution to budget woes are the samepeople who don’t believe class size matters when it comes to student achievement. However, multiple studies have shown us that class size doesmatter. Research shows that, overall, students perform better in smaller classes. Poor and minority children seem to do best in smaller classes and improve at twice the rate of the average studentwhen the student, teacher ratio is low. But who needs research? Common sensetells us that more

students mean more distractions for the teacher and lessindividual attention for the students. During his State of the Unionaddress, President Obama called on America to invest in education. By puttingour resources toward our children, we will, in effect, be putting a downpayment on a more prosperous future for America. School districts should notsacrifice stu-

dent performance during a time of education crisis. The United States of America hasfallen behind other countries when it comes to producing skilled workers; oumation is no longer a nation of innovators. To jeopardize our children’s futureis to jeopardize our nation’s future.

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