East Haven School Officials Tackling Issue of Class Size

EAST HAVEN, CT - The Board of Education held a lengthy discussion at its first meeting since the school year started on how to address the difficult challenge of enrollment numbers varying from school to school.

And, the board made one change, adding a second grade class to the Momauguin School to address the fact that there were 27 students in one class. The minutes of the meeting said the general consensus of the board was that “was too many” and later in the meeting the board voted to add the additional class.

Superintendent of Schools Erica Forti said there would continue to be some fluctuation in the enrollment numbers, per school, for a number of weeks before final figures are in.

Board of Education member John Finkle remarked that the “bubble” of several large classes didn’t just happen. He said “it’s been building over several years.” He said he believes the board should be setting minimum class sizes, starting with East Haven Academy.

Board member Christine Maisano added that it isn’t fair for the rest of the students in town that the class sizes at East Haven Academy are much lower, on average, than the other schools.

Superintendent Forti added that one issue that is hard to get a handle on is the fact that there are many “transient” residents, making the numbers of student per school a constantly moving target.

The board said it would be a good idea to check with the Connecticut Association of Board Education to see if there are any policies the East Haven board can follow regarding class size.

While the board took action on the 2nd grade issue at Momauguin it held a discussion, but took no action, on the Grade 4 class size at Tuttle.

Asked for her comment on the issue, Board of Education Chairwoman Michele DeLucia said the following:

“Keep in mind that as they say “one size doesn’t fit all”, meaning that we are continuing to work with the school principal at each school to come up with a plan that would best suit their needs.

“In fact, adding an additional classroom was not the desired action to remedy the larger class size in some cases. It is important to not only consider the number of students per se when making the determination to add an additional classroom for a grade level in a particular school, or that it the only solution,” DeLucia said.

“The administration will make a recommendation based on the grade level, class population, learning environment, physical space, and most importantly the grade level teachers input being that it can be quite insightful as to what option may be best,” the school board chairwoman added.