Combination Classes Cause Concern With ABC Parents

Combination classes were a topic of concern during the March 20 ABC School Board meeting in which parents spoke before the board during the public comments section.

Local parent, Maria Gardenas, wanted to know the reason behind the including combination classes -- elementary school classes in which two grades are combined in one classroom to accommodate the volume of students entering the school in one year.

“They (students) comes to us in real numbers,” said Superintendent Gary Smuts, who added that student achievement is not affected by combination classes.

According to board administrator Dr. Mary Sieu, over 52 percent of the district's elementary schools have combination classes this year.

“Combination classes are created due to the uneven number of students that come into a school setting,” Sieu said. “We cannot have a class with only 15 students as a whole class. Where there are not even set of students for each grade level, then the school must create combination classes based on the staffing ratio. The number of combination classes change from year to year at each school, depending on how many students enroll at the school.”

ABC Federation of Teachers' Richard Hathaway thinks combination classes are necessary, and it can happen in any grade, anywhere and any year. Hathaway, who once taught a 2nd and 3rd grade combination classes, said combo classes can help some students since a lot of grade pairings share curriculum.

“The ideal is to have everybody in their own grade level, but it's all just staffing and money,” Hathaway said. “People try to avoid combo classes. They try to do the best for the student.”

Gardenas also wanted to know the basis of how a student is accepted into an ABC school. Smuts said that the highest priority goes to the residents of ABC, but the district ensures that students already in the district get to stay in the district.

“We're a victim of our own success,” Smuts said. “We want to give folks the guarantee they get to stay at the school they started in.”

The next school board meeting will be held on April 17.