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FARMINGTON — Excitement turned to concern at Farmington Elementary School last week, as parents gathered to find out their children's class placements for the upcoming school year. They discovered fifth graders were placed in one of only two classrooms, each with 37 students.
"My daughter is one of these," Jeffery Keller said. "As a parent, I'm invested, as are 74 other parents at this point."
Utah already has a reputation for big class sizes — with an average of 22.4 students per classroom, the state has the largest class sizes in the country.
Keller hoped the school would hire another teacher, bringing class sizes down to 24 students. With only a week until school starts, it doesn't look like that will happen.
"Farmington Elementary administration and the teachers have chosen to keep that grade at higher numbers rather than have a split and to supplement the class with additional teacher assistants. The district supports the school's decision and has provided additional support for teacher assistants for those classes," the Davis School District said in a statement.
The district considered restructuring classrooms by combining fourth and fifth graders, but the fifth grade teachers ultimately went for the larger class size.
The two fifth grade teachers have opted to split subjects. One will teach math, while the other teaches science and social studies. Both will teach English language arts.
The teachers said they were grateful for Principal Sandra Carmony's support, and the teacher aides would be "invaluable."
The fifth grade classes will have teacher aides, and they can also count on parent volunteers to help in the classroom. Keller and his wife volunteer at the school, which he describes as having a "very involved community."
Volunteers and teacher aides can only go so far, however. And Farmington Elementary's situation isn't unique — the district reports there are many fifth- and sixth-grade classrooms with 35 or more students.
Part of the issue is schools determine the number of teachers they need by averaging class sizes across the entire school, Keller said. So, though fifth grade classrooms are extra big this year, the school can still report an acceptable teacher-to-student ratio using the average of all classrooms.
Plus, Utah ranks lowest in the country for per-pupil funding. "Class sizes will always be less than desirable in Utah," a school representative said. If the district wanted to decrease class sizes by just one student, district-wide, it would cost $9 to $10 million.
Keller acknowledges the school district is trying its best — but he wishes things would change on a state level.
