Lake Bluff School District 65 Will Propose Class Size Guidelines at May Board Meeting

Lake Bluff School District 65 board members and the community will likely gain a look next month at guidelines for maximum class sizes at all grade levels.

Superintendent John Asplund updated the board Tuesday night on the progress toward creating an action plan for the future when it comes to keeping class sizes at ideal levels. Asplund said he will recommend proposed class size ranges at the May 24 board meeting.

The ranges will be set for kindergarten through second grade, third through fifth grades and middle school.

A number of parents approached t, expressing concern about kindergarten class sizes. One parent pointed out that the class sizes at the younger grades are lower in neighboring districts.

Asplund said his recommendations will specify that a meeting is called if a class exceeds its ideal maximum class size. He said administrators and teachers would then discuss possible action to address the class size and then report a recommendation to the school board.

Asplund said the recommendations will also include setting a maximum of 19 students for each section of full-day kindergarten. If there are at least 17 additional children seeking full-day kindergarten spots, another section will be created. If there are fewer than 17 additional children, however, those children will be placed in the half-day kindergarten program.

Asplund added that he would like to internally post the changing of a part-time kindergarten teacher position to a full-time position toincrease the number of kindergarten teachers from 3.5 to four. So far, 55 full-time kindergarten students are enrolled for the 2011-12 school year.