5 Feb 2004
Moses Notes Continuous Progress In Classroom Management, Teacher/Student Ratios
DALLAS—The number of class size waiver requests from the Dallas Independent School District showed continuous progress from the fall of 2003, with the district working closer to meet the state requirements of 22 students for every one teacher in K-4 classrooms, said Superintendent Mike Moses.
Moses on Thursday said aggressive management and a dedication to providing students with the lowest student/teacher ratios possible has meant a 76 percent reduction in almost 600 overcrowded classrooms since 2001.
DISD will send information to the Texas Education Agency requesting 191 classroom waivers at only 45 of its 156 elementary schools. In the fall of 2001, those numbers were 783 classrooms in 112 schools. In the fall of 2002 the numbers had fallen to 416 classrooms in 77 schools. In November of 2003, the numbers were 241 classrooms in 58 schools.
School districts that have a ratio of more than 22 students to every one teacher in a K-4 classroom must either make adjustments in the size of the class, or seek waivers from the state and provide a plan of action to meet the 22-to-1 state requirement as soon as possible.
"We continue to make progress in the areas of class-size management, which has allowed us to cut the number of waivers we are seeking by almost 76 percent, and we have cut the number of schools with waiver needs by almost 60 percent in less than three years," Moses said.
"With two new schools opening in the district this fall, and the work we're doing to adjust attendance boundaries, we believe these numbers will continue to drop."
The superintendent said that
In a majority of the remaining 191 classrooms the classes tend to be one or two students over the 22:1 requirement.
"We have situations where there are bilingual classrooms where we simply don't have enough teachers to cover our needs, but we are addressing those needs through aggressive recruitment efforts," Moses said. "Our staff, principals and teachers are to be commended for their efforts to aggressively attack this critical issue. We hope to reduce the numbers even more as new schools come online in the 2002 bond program."
Through the 2002 bond program, DISD will build 20 new schools and make additions to almost 40 schools. All 218 schools in the district will receive renovations as well.