The Importance Of A National Study By Add Health

Overcrowded schools are one of the many reasons why America is falling backwards. With high birth rates and continuous immigration flow the classroom has become overcrowded. The best way a student can learn is if the attention is not so divided. With large classrooms having over 30 students, it makes it almost impossible for a teacher to attend to each student equally. “Slavin (1989) reviewed those studies that lasted a minimum of 1 year and had 20 students or fewer. He concluded that substantial reductions in class size have a small positive effect on students” (Synopsis of Class Size Literature). Classrooms should be small enough for a teacher to perform well without divided attention. In smaller classrooms, students are recognized for their contribution and participation. Students can respect the work of their peers individually and learn from them and help maintain order. They have more time to be collaborative, work creatively, think critically and draw their own predictions. In “Every Classroom Teacher’s Dream”, Patricia Handley states that “Teachers have more opportunity for personalized assessment with students, such as individual conferencing. With a small class, teacher can maximize best teaching practices, heightening students’ academic achievement” (6). There is ample evidence on how a small classroom can improve so much.

Smaller class sizes are a pivotal reason as to why parents should send their children to private school. Private schools have smaller class sizes, which allow for more individualized instruction on various subject matters, and they improve student-teacher relationships. For instance, “Small classes allow teachers to give students more individual attention and lighten the teacher’s workload, and therefore are generally considered desirable” (Choy 14). Subsequently, by having a smaller class size, a student

Parent and Community involvement does not occur overnight. I feel that schools must make parent and community involvement a priority, valuing and accepting each other’s differences. Schools, families and communities must work together to support all students in a learning environment to ensure every student is a successful learner. Positive family and school involvement fosters a partnership among my school encouraging students to reach their highest potential academically and in life. Parent and community involvement does not mean stay-at-home mothers coming to school to help as needed, or a businessman stopping by to see events occurring on campus. The role of school, family and community involvement is a partnership incorporating goal-oriented activities for all grade levels linked to academic success and student growth.

hesis Statement: Research suggest that smaller class sizes are better because as the class size is reduced academic achievement increased, the academic achievement gap decreases, students receive higher wages later in life, and students receive more one-on-one time with the teacher. ____________________________________________________________________________ Naomi Dillon. Class size and student achievement: Research review. Center for Public Education.                         http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/Main-Menu/Organizing-a-school/Class-size-and-student-achievement-At-a-glance/Class-size-and-student-achievement-Research-review.html     This article found 19 different studies to determine the outcome of reducing class sizes.

According to Malcolm Gladwell chapter two of “David and Goliaths” economist Caroline Hoxby found that there was not any significant data indicating smaller classroom sizes had a greater effect on a child’s academic achievement. However; Diana Whitmore Schanzenbach from National Education Policy Center (NEPC), Northwestern University has contradicted Gladwell’s assertion that smaller classroom sizes were not an academic advantage. Schanzenbach review research done by Tennessee’s Student Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) and found many flaws that had been considered in Hoxby research that conflicted with much of the research that has already been concluded. There has been a considerable amount of research and much of it has concluded with: the children who were placed in a classroom with less students from kindergarten to third grade, scored higher during academic testing, and were more likely to continue to achieve higher grades throughout their school years. Because education is an important stepping stone for children, it is crucial their educational needs are exceeded while they are young and still able to grasp.

The evidence suggests that increasing class size will not only harm children’s test scores in the short-run, but also in their long-run human capital formation. Money is saved from increasing class size will be more substantial social and educational costs in the future. In addition to high costs, reducing class size have unintended consequences. When California lowered class sizes in 1996, they realized that they did not have enough teachers to meet the challenge. Schools were forced to hire new teachers and add portable classmates to accommodate the state

Growing up in the inner city of Los Angeles taught me many things; make sure you’re inside before the street lights come on, never wear all red or blue, and make sure you get a good education so that one day you can leave the inner city behind. I was fortunate enough to have both a mother and a father who stressed the importance of excelling academically because attending an inner city, LA county, public school did not instill a love of academics in myself or my peers. Our teachers had checked out, the curriculum was not inspiring or relatable, and everyday there was yet another fight happening during recess. As time went on I witnessed my classmates and I take completely different paths. The strong support system I had at home proved effective. As I went on to go to college, many of my peers dropped out, the dismal state of our public school system had clearly failed them. During my undergraduate studies, the stories of my old classmates did not leave my mind.

Chiles Elementary School’s improvement plan, for its vision statement is to strive “for excellence by actively involving all students, parents, faculty, staff, and the community in a safe, nurturing, and respectful environment” (Lawton M. Chiles Elementary SIP, 2015-2016, pg. 8). Building relationships is extremely important in order to facilitate successful collaboration, which is why the school improvement plan also listed different ways for learning student cultures, building safe and respectful learning environment, and getting parents involved. For example, in order to learn more about student cultures, teachers are encouraged to involve all students in activities to share about themselves, their families, and their work with peers. Teachers are also encouraged to meet with parents, to listen to concerns, and to learn about special needs that a child may have. To create a safe and respectful learning environment, teachers have general tasks that they must do before, during, and after school, such as providing supervision in their grade level’s common area before the first bell, utilizing school-wide classroom management system, and supervising students in the car loop or bus loop

A small class is consider to be twenty students or less. In smaller schools there are not as many students so the teachers will be able to help the students more one on one. Students can have a better idea of the content that they are learning and even if they don’t understand then the could talk to the teacher to have a better understanding. In a recent study, students and teachers were randomly assigned to a small class, with an average of 15 students, or a regular class, with an average of 22 students. This large reduction in class size (7 students, or 32 percent) was found to increase student achievement by an amount equivalent to about 3 additional months of schooling four years later. Also, increasing the pupil/teacher ratio in the U.S. by one student would save at least $12 billion per year in teacher salary costs alone, which is roughly

Every day teachers overcome obstacles in the classroom, problem-solve on the go, address failures and challenges, work to create better ways to engage students, and improve methods of educating. Yet, so many of these moments, these everyday victories and triumphs go unnoticed. Teachers are constantly working to support their students and create more accessible and diverse opportunities. In our small district, many of these new ideas and efforts are personally and individually spearheaded by the teachers themselves, who lead, implement, and follow through to make their vision a reality. Thankfully community partners, parents, businesses and individuals readily and graciously offer support and resources to support teachers and students.

Students are not limited to learning in school environments alone; they live complex lives across multiple settings and each contributes to student outcomes. There has generally been a lack of school-community partnerships over the years, but there are several trends to improve these relationships. School partnerships within the community help to support learning and the bridge the gap between student’s home and school. Not only do students benefit from these positives relationships, but so do parents and the school itself. School-Community partnerships assist with development of valuable afterschool programs, access to community resources, and summer programs. Historically, high poverty schools have poor community-schools relationships, but there are several recent practices to combat this trend. For instance, some schools operate as full-service schools with community partnerships which provide services such as after- and before-school care, food pantries, counseling, hearing and vision specialists, and social workers. Another trend is community-based and service learning which requires students to be actively involved with community events. These programs boost student’s value in their communities and increases interpersonal development. Implementing community-based learning within the curriculum also promotes career exploration and future internship opportunities. Using the school as a community center have several benefits as well. When the school opens its doors to community members, parents feel more welcomed and less intimidated by the school system. This practice promotes parental engagement and support to their child’s

It is pretty apparent that in America, and elsewhere, most parents and general adults want what is best for their children in terms of education. This mindset can be seen reflected in the legislative aspects of our education system; there are many incentives pushing through the school boards and legislatures of our nation in order to attempt to further refine the education system. This is important as it allows us to refine traditional American education in order to improve upon it, and one of these attempt refinements and improvements has to deal with the subject of class size. For many people, large classroom sizes are a spawning ground for many issues with the education system: high distraction in the classroom, teacher inefficiency, among a plethora of others. Although it may seem regressive to favor small classes over bigger, more potentially diverse classes, small class sizes are more beneficial for education in that it is less distracting for the students and raises the possibility of staying focused, it potentially raises teacher-student relationships, and it allows for better results and better statistics coming from these smaller classes.

The amount of students in a classroom can make a difference when it comes to a student's ability to learn. The general consensus among students and teachers is that the smaller the classroom, the more time a teacher will have to be with a single student, thus giving a student better education. But, is this commonly held belief base of facts, or assumptions. Research on the effects of class size reduction has linked small class sizes with a variety of cognitive and non-cognitive benefits for students and teachers, both short and long-term, especially when class sizes are reduced in the early grades. In fact, class size reduction is one of only a handful of K12 reforms cited by the Institute of Education Sciences (2003) as proven to increase student achievement through rigorous evidence. Reducing class size is among an even smaller number of education reforms that have been shown to narrow the achievement gap. Its benefits are particularly pronounced for lower-income students and children of color, who experience two to three times the gains from smaller classes. Smaller classes have also been found to have a positive impact on school climate, safety and suspension rates, and parent engagement, especially in schools with large numbers of disadvantaged children.

A small class most often is less than 20 kids in elementary school however in high school the number is a little larger (“Why Class”). Small class sizes prove vital for American public school students because these classes can promote individualized learning, provide students with one-on-one contact with their teacher, and improve students’ academic performance; a class reduction will promote overall success. Being successful in grade school can prepare students for future opportunities such as college and future jobs. Success will also help students achieve their life goals and will allow them to grow to meet their full potential. Small classes would also be an area for effective learning and help learners be the best student they can be. Students will be able to come out of their comfort zone and build healthy relationships with the instructors and other students. While in school, many students develop a unique study method that will help them excel in their education and throughout life.

Many parents feel their children are not being challenged enough in public schools. Some of these children are doing well but clearly could do more, could be stretched intellectually. From their parents' point of view, they spend far too much time watching television, wandering around the mall, or playing games on their computers. Many parents are consequently drawn to private schools because of the academic rigor that comes with smaller classes, more personal attention, and teachers who nurture and promote each child's talents. There is no question that private schools offer smaller classes than most public schools in the country. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 1998-99 the median student-teacher ratio in NAIS schools was 9 to 1 while that in public schools was 17 to 1. Smaller classes make it difficult for a student to hide or slide. In a room with only 14 other students, it is difficult to remain uninvolved or consistently unprepared. Teachers can get to know 15 students much better and faster than 30. Smaller classes promote more faculty member-student interaction, and most kids