During the school vacation week of April 15-21, a parent-led petition to restore proposed Newton Public School cuts received over 900 signatures from Newton residents. NPS leadership has been forced to propose an FY24 budget that includes elementary classrooms of up to 29 students and middle school teams of up to 100 students, as well as reductions to critical support for students. We believe the School Committee and City should do everything in their power to mitigate the impact of larger class sizes and fewer supports on our children. Petitioners were encouraged to see Mayor Fuller’s April 19th newsletter stating she is “keenly aware of the deleterious impact of closing the budget gap facing NPS, including increased class sizes.” Restructuring Medicare Part B funding, as School Committee representative Chris Brezski suggested in his April 12th memo, can only be the beginning in bridging the gap between what NPS leadership has been forced to propose and what is acceptable for our children. Additional funding should be reallocated across the NPS budget, including from the proposed line item to increase the Other Post-Employment Benefits trust (“OPEB,” which primarily supports funding for future city retiree health insurance) and into our classrooms.
Larger class sizes, especially at the elementary level, have been proven to reduce student achievement and have a particularly adverse effect on historically marginalized student populations. Project “STAR” (the Student Teacher Achievement Ratio study) is the most famous and rigorous study of how smaller class sizes impact student learning. The study found that a 32% reduction in class size (in this study, reducing classrooms from 22 to 15 students) resulted in an increase in student achievement by an amount equivalent to an additional 3 months of schooling. These gains persisted for years: after 4 years, students in smaller classes were between 2-5 months ahead of their peers in larger classes; by the 8th grade, these students were almost a full school year ahead of their peers. In addition, the positive effects of smaller class sizes were most notable for students of color and students with low socioeconomic status. Additional studies in California, Minnesota, New York City, North Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin support these findings. A city like Newton that purports to highly value equity and excellence in K-12 education should be safeguarding small class sizes and robust, individualized support for all students.
Students who were taught in smaller elementary classes also demonstrated significantly higher levels of effort, initiative, and engagement, and lower levels of disruptive behavior than students in larger classes. Superintendent Smith’s January 23rd budget preview presentation made it clear that our NPS learners are demonstrating deficits in these social-emotional competencies and need more support, not less.
Smaller classes, particularly at the secondary level, also correlate with better school attendance and lower drop-out rates. Graduation rates are highest where student : teacher ratios are lowest, with gains particularly sharp among historically marginalized students. At a time when nearly one third of Massachusetts students have been chronically absent from school and Newton high schools are facing unprecedented challenges with school attendance, we should not allow budgetary limitations to limit equitable pathways for all students to graduate from high school.
Newton is certainly not alone in facing a uniquely challenging budget climate while also navigating decreased enrollment. But Newton appears to stand alone in proposing sweeping, budget-driven cuts that increase class sizes across the district and reduce support for vulnerable learners:
- In Needham, “while enrollment has not fully recovered from pre-COVID levels, students remain impacted by the pandemic and continue to require critical support services.” As a result, elementary classes will average 20.7 students per class, with no budget-driven instructional reductions proposed at elementary, middle, or high school. Instead, Needham school leadership has proposed FTE increases at the elementary level in special education teachers, administrators, and support staff (OT, PT, SLP, BCBA, psychologists); specials (Wellness, Fine Arts, Performing Arts, and World Language); and guidance—and at the secondary level, FTE increases in Guidance, English, Theatre, ELL, OT, Special Education, Science, and Social Studies.
- In Wellesley, which also faces an anticipated continued enrollment decline across all levels, no reductions are proposed based on budgetary needs. Wellesley leadership proposes only a 2.0 FTE enrollment-driven reduction of elementary teachers, resulting in average elementary class sizes of 18.2 students per class. Though they propose a .6 FTE arts reduction at the middle school and a 2.5 FTE reduction at the high school, they remain dedicated to the instructional core and to supporting students, and propose a 2.0 increase in middle school Math instruction and coaching.
- Since COVID, Brookline has made concerted efforts to mitigate large class sizes and support young learners: In FY22, the K-8 maximum class size was 18 students per class; in FY23, the maximum K-8 class size was 19; and in FY24 despite budgetary pressures, PSB class size guidelines will not exceed 21 students in K-2 and 24 students in 3-8.
Larger class sizes than our peer districts will only exacerbate families’ lack of confidence in NPS. They will compound learning needs that, as Superintendent Smith stated on January 23rd, exceed what NPS educators and leadership have seen in 20+ years. And they are preventable.
Our petition will accept signature responses until April 24th at 12:00 PM. If you support its message, please join the 900+ petitioners who have already signed.
Amy L. Davenport is an 11-year resident of Newton and parent of three current/future NPS children.
