Sunday, December 02, 2007

NY Group Urges Immediate Action to Reduce Size of Classes

This from the New York Times:

City school officials could begin reducing class sizes immediately in more than 150 of New York’s lowest performing schools, according to a report released yesterday by the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, the advocacy group that successfully sued the state for more money for the public school system.

The report said the city was not effectively using either its current budget or classroom space to reduce class sizes significantly in each of the 408 schools identified by the state as needing improvement. The group argues that reducing class sizes should be a top priority for the city’s Education Department. It called its report, which outlines specific plans for individual schools, a “road map” to that goal.

“If you look at what’s been done in the class size reduction plan, there has certainly been movement,” said Geri D. Palast, executive director of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity. “But left to their own devices, even in the early grades they have not done enough.” ...

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