Seymour High Gearing Up for Larger Classes
Posted on: Friday, 13 January 2006, 21:00 CST
By January Wetzel, The Tribune, Seymour, Ind.
Jan. 12--Preparing for larger-than-average classes that will soon enter Seymour High School, Seymour Community Schools will add four teaching positions for the 2006-07 school year.
School trustees approved Superintendent Robert Schmielau's recommendation with a unanimous vote Tuesday. Those new jobs will not require additional funding since the district has kept some elementary positions opened as the larger class moved from the elementary buildings to the middle school and again as they shift to the high school, Schmielau said Wednesday.
Part of those positions were opened up because of retirees who were not replaced, he added.
"The need for additional teachers is driven by the enrollments in eighth and ninth grades," Schmielau said. "Grade nine currently has 35 additional students beyond an ideal capacity. They are already elbow-to-elbow down there," Schmielau said. The 2006 freshman class is projected to have at least 60 additional students.
Cheryl Fenton, president of the Seymour Education Association, commended the school board for looking into the crowding problem and approving the positions.
However, she said not enough is being done at the middle school level where the bigger classes are now enrolled. "I think it's wonderful that we are looking at the future, but that future is currently at Seymour Middle School right now, and we need to do something about the problem there," Fenton said.
"We have teachers there that are responsible for nearly 300 students. Granted, they don't have all those students in class every day, (but) they are still responsible for their grades and academic success," Fenton added.
Based on current enrollment projections, the teaching positions will include one full-time English teacher and one full-time social studies teacher, Schmielau said. The other two positions will include some combinations of physical education, health, industrial technology, fine arts, mathematics or science, depending on what classes are needed, he added.
"We are going to look and see what classes kids are enrolling in," Schmielau said.
"We want kids to be able to make their own choices about what classes to take, but we have to have enough faculty to teach all those classes," he added.
"The additional teachers will help provide needed classes for the large freshman and sophomore classes next year," Schmielau said.
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Source: The Tribune (Seymour, Ind.)
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