dallastophoenix
23 October 2003, 06:58 PM
District behind only Houston in number of elementary waivers
AUSTIN – Elementary school students in Dallas and Houston were most likely to sit in overcrowded classes this past school year as Texas' two largest districts had the lion's share of campuses over the state's class-size limits.
Spring 2003 figures from the Texas Education Agency showed that Dallas and Houston, which educate about 9 percent of the public school students in the state, had 43 percent of the nearly 500 elementary schools that were allowed to exceed the 22-pupil limit for kindergarten through fourth grade.
A number of experts say that student achievement can suffer as classes get larger, particularly in lower grades. That is one of the reasons the Legislature capped the size of classes in the primary grades several years ago – though districts can secure waivers from the requirement under certain conditions.
While those waivers are usually granted, the TEA in recent years has set additional restrictions on districts seeking to be exempted from the class-size law.
Both Dallas and Houston, which reduced their numbers of schools over the limit this year, blamed their overcrowding on lack of classroom space and inability to find enough qualified teachers. The two urban districts have repeatedly asked for large numbers of waivers in recent years, though Dallas asked for 23 percent fewer in the spring of 2003. Houston's total was down 16 percent.
"We are seeking solutions, but the reality is that with 31 percent of our students moving around [annually] and $400 million worth of facility needs even after our bond program, we will always be looking for more space," said Donald Claxton, a spokesman for the Dallas Independent School District.
"It's a problem that we just have not been able to eliminate."
Some relief should come in the near future through the $1.4 billion Dallas school bond program approved last year, Mr. Claxton said. Two new elementary schools will open next fall and six more in fall 2005.
Dallas did show some improvement in spring 2003 as the number of schools with class size waivers dropped from 93 last year to 71 in this year.
In Houston, where school officials cited facility problems similar to those of Dallas, the number of schools with waivers decreased from 164 to 137. Statewide, there were 486 campuses that received exemptions from class size requirements, a slight decrease from a year ago, when 492 schools got waivers.
Leading teacher groups, which have lobbied hard to preserve the class-size standards, said there's no excuse for so many schools getting waivers to exceed the 22-pupil limit.
"Whenever school districts have a financial squeeze, this is one of the first places they look, trying to load more kids into each classroom to save money," said Jo-Hannah Whitsett of the Association of Texas Professional Educators. "It's bad for the kids and bad for the teachers."
The association strongly supported a 2001 law that for the first time required school officials to promptly notify parents when their child is in an overcrowded class. The requirement may have had some impact, as the number of school districts obtaining waivers dropped from 140 in spring 2001 to 98 in spring 2003, though the total number of campuses involved barely declined.
Richard Kouri of the Texas State Teachers Association said it is puzzling why Dallas and Houston school officials don't work harder to comply with the class-size standards when they are struggling to get their student test scores up.
"Studies are pretty clear about the advantages of smaller classes for most students," he said.
"If Dallas and Houston are having problems with low test scores, you'd think they would come to the conclusion that they should try harder to comply with the class-size standards."
Because there are no state penalties for not meeting the 22-pupil limit, one of the few ways to keep districts in compliance is by parental pressure.
"The push from parents and the community to comply is important. If superintendents and school boards don't feel that pressure, they are not likely to respond. It may be that Dallas and Houston aren't feeling the pressure because they're such large districts."
However, three other large districts – Fort Worth, El Paso and San Antonio – did not request any class-size exemptions. Austin received waivers for 19 elementary schools.
Other districts in the Dallas area that received exemptions for some of their schools were Frisco, Highland Park, Hurst-Euless-Bedford, Irving, Lewisville, Mesquite and Rockwall.
The Texas Education Agency has tightened up the requirements for obtaining class-size waivers over the last two years to reduce the overall number of exemptions, but the reduction has been slight.
One of the new rules barred waivers for schools not having an "acceptable" performance rating from the state. Districts with waivers also have to develop a proposal showing how they plan to come into compliance with the class-size standard.
Another rule mandated a public hearing at any campus getting two consecutive waivers. Any district getting waivers for five consecutive semesters would have to show student achievement gains on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills.
A study three years ago by the Rand Corp., a California-based think tank, praised Texas for its student performance, citing small class sizes in elementary grades as a key factor in improved Texas scores on national achievement tests.
The class-size standard was a cornerstone of the sweeping school-reform law passed by the Legislature in 1984. The changes – which also included the no pass-no play rule for extracurricular activities – were recommended by a special committee headed by Dallas billionaire Ross Perot.
E-mail tstutz@dallasnews.com
Another reason why parents are choosing the suburbs...
AUSTIN – Elementary school students in Dallas and Houston were most likely to sit in overcrowded classes this past school year as Texas' two largest districts had the lion's share of campuses over the state's class-size limits.
Spring 2003 figures from the Texas Education Agency showed that Dallas and Houston, which educate about 9 percent of the public school students in the state, had 43 percent of the nearly 500 elementary schools that were allowed to exceed the 22-pupil limit for kindergarten through fourth grade.
A number of experts say that student achievement can suffer as classes get larger, particularly in lower grades. That is one of the reasons the Legislature capped the size of classes in the primary grades several years ago – though districts can secure waivers from the requirement under certain conditions.
While those waivers are usually granted, the TEA in recent years has set additional restrictions on districts seeking to be exempted from the class-size law.
Both Dallas and Houston, which reduced their numbers of schools over the limit this year, blamed their overcrowding on lack of classroom space and inability to find enough qualified teachers. The two urban districts have repeatedly asked for large numbers of waivers in recent years, though Dallas asked for 23 percent fewer in the spring of 2003. Houston's total was down 16 percent.
"We are seeking solutions, but the reality is that with 31 percent of our students moving around [annually] and $400 million worth of facility needs even after our bond program, we will always be looking for more space," said Donald Claxton, a spokesman for the Dallas Independent School District.
"It's a problem that we just have not been able to eliminate."
Some relief should come in the near future through the $1.4 billion Dallas school bond program approved last year, Mr. Claxton said. Two new elementary schools will open next fall and six more in fall 2005.
Dallas did show some improvement in spring 2003 as the number of schools with class size waivers dropped from 93 last year to 71 in this year.
In Houston, where school officials cited facility problems similar to those of Dallas, the number of schools with waivers decreased from 164 to 137. Statewide, there were 486 campuses that received exemptions from class size requirements, a slight decrease from a year ago, when 492 schools got waivers.
Leading teacher groups, which have lobbied hard to preserve the class-size standards, said there's no excuse for so many schools getting waivers to exceed the 22-pupil limit.
"Whenever school districts have a financial squeeze, this is one of the first places they look, trying to load more kids into each classroom to save money," said Jo-Hannah Whitsett of the Association of Texas Professional Educators. "It's bad for the kids and bad for the teachers."
The association strongly supported a 2001 law that for the first time required school officials to promptly notify parents when their child is in an overcrowded class. The requirement may have had some impact, as the number of school districts obtaining waivers dropped from 140 in spring 2001 to 98 in spring 2003, though the total number of campuses involved barely declined.
Richard Kouri of the Texas State Teachers Association said it is puzzling why Dallas and Houston school officials don't work harder to comply with the class-size standards when they are struggling to get their student test scores up.
"Studies are pretty clear about the advantages of smaller classes for most students," he said.
"If Dallas and Houston are having problems with low test scores, you'd think they would come to the conclusion that they should try harder to comply with the class-size standards."
Because there are no state penalties for not meeting the 22-pupil limit, one of the few ways to keep districts in compliance is by parental pressure.
"The push from parents and the community to comply is important. If superintendents and school boards don't feel that pressure, they are not likely to respond. It may be that Dallas and Houston aren't feeling the pressure because they're such large districts."
However, three other large districts – Fort Worth, El Paso and San Antonio – did not request any class-size exemptions. Austin received waivers for 19 elementary schools.
Other districts in the Dallas area that received exemptions for some of their schools were Frisco, Highland Park, Hurst-Euless-Bedford, Irving, Lewisville, Mesquite and Rockwall.
The Texas Education Agency has tightened up the requirements for obtaining class-size waivers over the last two years to reduce the overall number of exemptions, but the reduction has been slight.
One of the new rules barred waivers for schools not having an "acceptable" performance rating from the state. Districts with waivers also have to develop a proposal showing how they plan to come into compliance with the class-size standard.
Another rule mandated a public hearing at any campus getting two consecutive waivers. Any district getting waivers for five consecutive semesters would have to show student achievement gains on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills.
A study three years ago by the Rand Corp., a California-based think tank, praised Texas for its student performance, citing small class sizes in elementary grades as a key factor in improved Texas scores on national achievement tests.
The class-size standard was a cornerstone of the sweeping school-reform law passed by the Legislature in 1984. The changes – which also included the no pass-no play rule for extracurricular activities – were recommended by a special committee headed by Dallas billionaire Ross Perot.
E-mail tstutz@dallasnews.com
Another reason why parents are choosing the suburbs...