By Amanda Foust
Growth in Carmel has some parents worried, about class sizes, that is.
One mother of a Carmel student, Fane Benedetti, reached out to Current about her concerns due to the Carmel Clay School board’s decision to not redistrict this year. She shared that her son is currently in a challenge program at Carmel Elementary consisting of 30 students with one teacher in a single classroom.
She has also heard of 50 students in a challenge class at College Wood with two teachers in that classroom.
Benedetti said: “I am concerned because this is a lot of kids and I believe [my son]will do better with less kids in the classroom.”
When Current reached out to the board about this, assistant to the superintendent Dana Kendall stated the school corporation’s response in an e-mail.
“The number of students in the challenge classes at College Wood and Carmel Elementary are not due to overcrowding in these two schools but rather the number of students at these two schools who qualify for challenge,” Kendall wrote on behalf of the school.
Kendall went on to state that the current teaching model for the large class sizes has, in fact, been effective and meets the needs of the students.
Three years ago, the Benedetti family was one of many who were redistricted, and the Benedetti remembers the time being very contentious among Carmel residents. She remembers the goal was to be able to move the kids from the west side of the schools to the east side due to more availability.
“I’m concerned about Carmel Elementary because we are in the middle [of Carmel]and a smaller school,” she said.
Due to the larger classes being challenge classes, she is also concerned that the classroom sizes are limiting the number of students who would have otherwise qualified for the challenge classes had there been more room and accommodation.
“We do not limit the number of students in the challenge classes. If the student qualifies for the challenge class, then the student has the opportunity to be served in a challenge class,” Kendall stated, however she would not confirm nor deny that fact that the class sizes were too large.
“Our teachers are great and they always do their best but I am wondering how far they can stretch it. How long before it is not so great?” Benedetti said.
Current wants to know: Do you think class sizes are too big? Email [email protected] with your thoughts.
