By Lynn Hotaling
Local school officials' efforts to keep class sizes down is
causing delayed decisions on some student transfer requests.
In an effort to keep county schools in line with state-mandated
class sizes and preserve the smaller classes local educators
deem ideal for optimum student performance, Superintendent Mack
McCary has postponed a decision on student transfers at some
grade levels in certain schools, he said Tuesday.
"If we make decisions now at certain grade levels where there
are high numbers of kids, we risk overcrowding classrooms,"
McCary said.
Local schools must meet a state-mandated, districtwide class
size of no more than 21 students in first grade, McCary said.
While individual classrooms may contain as many as 24 students,
Jackson County has worked to get class sizes down as low as
possible in the primary grades, he said. "
Transfers wreak havoc with that," McCary said. "At this point
we're delaying decisions, not denying transfers." School board
members indicated during their Monday (June 23) session that
they had received calls concerning the delays, since school-to-school
transfers in Jackson County have historically been virtually
automatic.
"This is a huge change for the people of Jackson County," said
board member Ali Laird-Large.
"We're getting calls." McCary pointed out there are two sides
to the transfer question.
"We had calls from parents last year wondering why we were
allowing transfers to overcrowd our classrooms," he said.
The three local schools experiencing the greatest increases
in early childhood enrollment are Blue Ridge, Cullowhee Valley
and Fairview, McCary said.
Local schools have been allocated four additional teachers
by the state, McCary said, and both Blue Ridge and Cullowhee
will gain a teacher to help alleviate crowded conditions.
The other two teachers will be placed at Smoky Mountain High
to continue the freshman transition program, he said.
All indications are that state legislators will mandate a district-wide
limit of 21 students in second-grade classrooms this summer,
the superintendent said.
If that happens, then Fairview is projected to receive an
additional teacher, he said.
"I support parents having free choice of where in the district
to send their child to school and regret the delays," McCary
said. "
But we have to balance the state mandates with the desires
of parents and teachers for lower class sizes."
Also June 23:
- Board members unanimously approved a countywide elementary
handbook that adds an additional gateway year to local promotion
standards.
Beginning next year, county fourth-graders will have to attain
level III or IV scores on state end-of-grade tests to be promoted
to fifth grade.
Currently, grades 3, 5 and 8 are gateway years.
"Fourth grade seemed to be the year to add to maintain consistency,"
said Fairview Principal Sue Nations, who will become assistant
superintendent July 1."We think this is a way to improve student
performance."
In addition to approving the handbook, board members unanimously
approved changing their promotions and accountability policy
to reflect the addition of fourth grade as a gateway year in
terms of promotion.
- Handbooks and codes of conduct were also unanimously approved
for Smoky Mountain and Blue Ridge high schools.
- Board members approved an interim budget resolution finance
officer David Steinbicker said would allow the local system
to continue to operate while waiting for the N.C. Legislature
to approve a budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
- Field trips for Fairview, SMHS men's and women's basketball,
SMHS volleyball, and SMHS football were approved; however, a
field trip request for the SMHS senior cruise to the Virgin
Islands April 3-12, 2004, was tabled for further discussion.
