KATY, Texas (Covering Katy News) — Katy ISD teachers told school board members Monday that some kindergarten classrooms started the school year with as many as 28 or 29 students, raising concerns about instruction and safety as the district moves teachers to reduce overcrowding.
The concerns surfaced before trustees voted 7-0 to authorize the district to seek state waivers for 47 prekindergarten-through-fourth-grade classes expected to remain above the state's 22-student class-size limit after staffing adjustments.
Katy ISD kindergarten classes reach 28, 29 students
Kindergarten teacher Azenette Fedorenko, who teaches at Schmalz Elementary School on Barker Cypress Road between Morton and Clay roads, told trustees her campus began last school year with 13 to 15 students in kindergarten classes. After three kindergarten teachers were reassigned in October, she said, students were redistributed and classes increased to between 20 and 22 students.
“This year, however, we are beginning the school year with 28 to 29 kindergarten students in our classrooms,” Fedorenko said. “A class of 29 is seven students above the 22-student class-size limit.”
Fedorenko said the larger classes make individualized and small-group instruction more difficult and create safety concerns with five-year-olds.
“With 28 or 29 five-year-olds, there are more transitions, more movement and more moments where students need immediate adult support,” Fedorenko said. “One teacher cannot be in 29 places at once.”
She ended her remarks by telling trustees, “29 is not just a number on a spreadsheet, it's 29 little people.”
Teachers raise concerns about instruction and safety
Fedorenko was not the only teacher raising concerns.
Katy ISD teacher Jeremy Padilla later read a statement from kindergarten teacher Megan Davis, who said large classes reduce the amount of individual and small-group instruction teachers can provide.
“When a kindergarten classroom reaches high numbers, small group time shrinks to mere minutes per child,” Davis wrote.
Davis also said large classes create challenges for teachers serving students with individualized education programs, 504 plans and other developmental needs.
“We need manageable class size caps, additional paraprofessional support, or resource allocation tailored to classrooms with intervention needs,” Davis wrote.
Katy ISD moving teachers to reduce class sizes
Chief Human Resources Officer Brian Schuss told trustees the district expects to seek state waivers for 47 classes that will remain above the 22-student limit after staffing changes are completed.
Schuss said 35 of those classes are expected to have 23 students, nine will have 24 and three will have 25.
But he acknowledged some classrooms were still substantially larger at the time of Monday's meeting.
“If I'm a teacher and I have 26 or 27 students in my class today, we'll still have that tomorrow,” Schuss said. “But we're starting that process immediately.”
Schuss said administrators were aware of the unusually large kindergarten classes described by teachers earlier in the meeting.
“Yes, we know,” Schuss said. “We've had some high class sizes.”
He said one of the campuses involved is receiving two additional kindergarten classes. The additional teachers are expected to bring the average kindergarten class size at that campus down to about 19 students, although individual classroom sizes may vary.
The campus was not identified during the discussion.
Katy ISD trustees approve class-size waivers
Schuss said the district expects the staffing changes to be completed within the next couple of weeks and no later than the beginning of the second nine-week elementary grading period.
Trustees voted 7-0 to authorize the district to submit the class-size waiver applications to the state.