OUSD Class Size
Archived Q&A and Reviews
| Questions |
Impact of budget cuts on OUSD class size?
April 2011
Considering the massive budget cuts coming through, can anyone please comment on the impact this is having on class size in OUSD elementary schools. We are considering moving to another zone because the school we are going into this fall will likely have 28-30 kids in their kindergarten classes. Particularly we are looking at Kaiser, Chabot, Cleveland, Glenview, Montclair, and Joaquin Miller. Have these schools lost: teachers? extra curricular activities, etc? Do these schools have TA's in the classroom? THANK YOU!!!! Concerned Mommy
Cleveland School is supposed to have 3 K classes this year with 20 as the class size. The rest of the grades will probably have 25 and up. There is no guarantee of the class size staying that low even though that is the intention. There will probably be music next year and hopefully art as well. Cleveland has mostly veteran teachers so few, if any, teachers will be cut. Good luck.
None of the elementary teachers in OUSD are being pink slipped next year. It was announced a few weeks ago after a school board meeting. In addition, many of the middle school teachers who were pink slipped, will not be leaving either. A good source of info regarding Oakland Schools in general is Katy Murphy's blog: http://www.ibabuzz.com/education/ lauren
Oakland public school: kindergarten class size?
March 2007
My child will be attending one of the oversubscribed schools in Oakland. In order to deal with a large increase in students, the rumor is that kindergarten classes are going to be huge. That's frightening. I went online and read that California kindergarten classes can reach a maximum of 33 students. Is that right? Previously I read that Oakland kindergarten classes might be a maximum of 27 but that they strive for fewer (around 20). I'd love to hear from other parents on class size. Do they really go up to 27 or even 33 kids? How common is the following situation: two smaller classes of 20 and one large class of 27? The latter situation seems very unfair to the students in the extra big class. Already worried
My kids go to Sequoia in Oakland. Kindergarten classes are limited to 20 kids. You should be able make an appointment to sit in on classes before the end of this year. Go to your neighborhood school in the afternoon when school lets out and find the kindergarten classrooms. You should be able to catch a few parents and their kids on their way out the door. Ask your school to help you connect with a few parents of kids already attending. I've noticed that the parents of preschool age kids in our neighborhood seem to be passing a lot of incorrect information about our neighborhood school among themselves. In our area there seems to be the perception that neighborhood kids go to school somewhere else. It's simply not true. I know many parents who are willing to talk to prospective parents. Save yourself worry and time by getting your information directly from the school and its parent community. Sequoiaschool.net
Sequoia Elementary Mama
The ''unfair'' situation you mention (20/20/27) is very common, for this reason: Schools get state money for every Kindergarten class that stays at 20 or below, and not for any class that goes over. So, rather than split 22/22/23 (as would seem fair) and get no money, they split 20/20/27 and get money for 2 of 3 classes. It is also at least somewhat common (happened in our school last year) for at least some of the 27 kids to go elsewhere and not actually start at the school-- we ended up with 20/20/22. Karen