Next school year, core class sizes at the middle and high school levels will increase across the county. This is just one major impact of the Board of Education’s recent decision to cut staffing and eliminate certain programs from Howard County public schools.
An increase in class sizes will present challenges to both staff and students next school year, according to principal Ms. Marcy Leonard.
Student Government Association (SGA) sponsor Mr. John Wallace says that classrooms will be overcrowded next school year due to the increase in class sizes. According to Mr. Wallace, because of this, the quality of learning within classrooms will overall decrease.
“More kids in a classroom can mean less learning because teachers will have less time to do one-on-one instruction or answer questions,” Mr. Wallace said.
Increased class sizes will ultimately lead to more distractions for students within the classroom and more work for teachers, says Mr. Wallace.
Ms. Colleen Miller teaches ELD classes at Wilde Lake and believes that increased class sizes will cause a shift in the classroom environment.
With more students in a classroom, Ms. Miller says students will have to motivate one another during class in a “culture of peer support.”
“If class sizes go up, a teacher who has carefully built a reliable system of student leadership and responsibility could rely on students to help each other with engagement and skillful peer feedback,” she said.
Not only does the increase in class sizes impact the environment of a classroom, but it also impacts a teacher’s time outside of the classroom, says Ms. Leonard.
According to Ms. Leonard, with more students in each classroom, teachers will have more work than in years prior. She says that because teachers will have more work, “It will take them more time to provide quality feedback on assignments.”
Students are also bracing themselves for the impact of the increase in class sizes next school year.
Junior Sam Brady worries about the budget’s increase in class sizes because Sam says forming relationships with teachers and students is easier in smaller classes.
“I enjoy being in smaller classes because I feel like I can become closer with my classmates,” said Sam. “Smaller classes feel more like a family.”
Aside from it being harder to form meaningful relationships, students like Ainslee Torres say the increase in class sizes will hurt students academically. Students will receive less individualized attention from teachers in larger classes, which puts their education at risk, according to Ainslee.
“The increase in class sizes next year will mean less individual attention from the teacher and possibly a more crowded learning environment,” she said.
Also, Ainslee says collaborative work in class will be more difficult with more students.
“Being in larger groups to discuss a topic might be more intimidating to some students, making them less willing to share their ideas,” she said. “With a larger group, making sure everyone has participated would also be more difficult.”
Incoming freshman Nicole Cyran says she learns better in smaller classes. She says it is upsetting that she will start high school with this increase in class sizes.
Nicole says it will be more difficult for her and her classmates to receive the individual attention that they need as first-year Wildecats.
“Everyone needs individual attention to learn because everyone has different needs,” said Nicole.
Wilde Lake staff will try their best to provide individualized support to all their students next year, says Ms. Leonard. However, she says this is not an easy task.
