Over the course of the next six years, Montgomery County will fund an expansion project for Northwood High School to increase the building's student capacity from 1,500 to 2,700 seats. According to Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) projections, the project will be completed in 2024, two years after the school is expected to exceed its population capacity. This reflects a broader trend of overpopulation prevalent throughout MCPS. Walter Johnson, Poolesville, Gaithersburg, Kennedy and Montgomery Blair High School are also estimated to surpass their current student capacity limit within the next decade.
The population of Montgomery County has been steadily increasing ever since 2008 and the implications of this expand beyond tangible problems such as space and building size. While the number of students in MCPS has increased, the rate of new teachers hired has not risen proportionally. This has resulted in the average class size increasing by 7.49 students from the 2017-2018 school year to present day . Blair junior Yenny Jiron reflects on how class size has affected her education. "Teachers are overwhelmed with students so there is a lack of one on one time. I find myself hating even days because in my eighth period there are around 40 students. The class is exhausting," Jiron described.
Studies have shown that larger class sizes have an effect on the quality of education students are receiving. Research by the 2015 Public Policy Department at Berkeley University revealed that the average student in a small classroom (15-20 students) has a reading and math score nearly nine percent higher than a student in a medium-sized class (20-26 students)...
If teachers are 'overwhelmed with students' then maybe they could bother to have their 'union,' the MCEA, speak up and stop the mega-schools being built all over this county, to the detriment of our pupils, our teachers and our communities. Teachers are hand in glove with the BOE building these mega-school factories. I am not seeing the SMOB or the students speaking up either.
ReplyDeleteThis county has evolved into a contiguous mega-construction project.
DeleteIronically, the more construction there is the less affordable it becomes.