Editor's note: The following story appears in the June 11 Town of Paradise Valley Independent. Post comments by hitting reply in the upper right-hand corner. Comments will be posted in an upcoming issue of the Town of Paradise Valley Independent.
Christ Church School caps class sizes
Student-teacher ratio 7 to 1, fall registration extended
By Zach Colick
Independent Newspapers
The Christ Church School Board of Directors voted last week to maintain its current 7 to 1 student-teacher ratio by capping class sizes for some of its youngest students.
With the decision, pre-school and pre-kindergarten classes for the 2009-10 school year will be limited to just 14 students per classroom. The board of directors also voted to extend fall registration to Aug. 1.
“The most commonly named culprits in the decline of our educational system is class size and student-teacher ratios,” said Pam Barbey, president of the Christ Church School Board of Directors.
“While many Arizona kindergarten teachers are facing class sizes of 28 to 36 students, we are committed to keeping our classes small to insure the social, academic and spiritual growth of our children is maximized.”
Betsy Delaney, Christ Church School’s executive director, said the board’s decision will lead to deeper, more meaningful learning experiences and higher student achievement.
“It is important to remember that giving our children a positive and productive learning environment as they begin their educational journey will go a long way in determining their long-term success in school and life,” Ms. Delaney said.
Along with small classes and student-teacher ratios, Christ Church School claims to hire only qualified teachers with a college degree.
The school maintains a library staffed by a librarian and features a music program taught by music specialists. In addition to Spanish and physical education classes, children are offered enrichment classes in science, cooking, art masterpieces, dinosaurs and gymnastics.
Christ Church School is affiliated with Christ Church of the Ascension Episcopal Church, 4015 E. Lincoln Drive. The school was founded in 2003 and offers classes for children in pre-school through kindergarten.
An expansion of grades 1 through 4 will begin in 2010, with a new grade to be added each year, beginning with first grade.
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