Parents say teacher’s aide needed in classroom Parents approach board about overcrowded kindergarten class BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer WOODBRIDGE — Parents of the 25 students in the afternoon kindergarten class at Ross Street School No. 11 are concerned about the safety and the educational quality their children are receiving. “Our children are being shortchanged,” said Monique Coleman, who has a son in the class. “The teacher-student ratio has reached 1-to-25. It is clear that this high ratio is wholly unacceptable and inappropriate, as it is jeopardizing the equal educational opportunity of the students in the class.” A dozen parents came with their children to the Dec. 14 Board of Education meeting to express their concerns. About a dozen parents volunteer in their children’s afternoon kindergarten class, which runs from 12:50 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., and believe that the class needs a teacher’s assistant in the classroom. The parents were told that the sole reason for not placing a teacher’s assistant in the classroom was because of a lack of funding. “Without an additional adult in the classroom, too many of our students fail to get adequate attention, guidance, and educational support,” said Coleman. “Our children’s teacher is obviously a very good, experienced teacher, who is doing everything that she can, but it is unfair for her to have such a large class with no assistant. Our children deserve a more appropriate kindergarten program so that they can be prepared for first grade and beyond.” The parents started a letter-writing campaign last week and sent 25 signed letters to schools Superintendent Vincent Smith. Smith said the board would take a look at the parents’ concerns. “I’ve talked to Ms. Coleman on the phone and we received the letters recently,” said Smith. “I am meeting Ms. Coleman on Tuesday [Dec. 19] and will take a look and listen to the parents’ concerns and will reach out to address their concerns.” Coleman said she was disturbed by what she saw one day when she was volunteering. “One of the girls needed to go to the bathroom,” she said. “But the girls’ bathroom is down the hall, down the stairs in the basement. The teacher couldn’t help the girl because she couldn’t leave the 24 other children alone in the classroom. If I wasn’t there to help, the girl would have needed to go by herself.” Coleman told the board another story that a girl was pushed near the bathroom and she had a cut and was bleeding. “The teacher found out and asked the parent volunteer that was there to go find the girl,” she said. “Thank God another student led the girl to the nurse’s office already.” Amber King, who has a daughter in the class, said it’s not safe for 5-year-olds to travel alone to the bathroom. “The 5-year-olds are not as well behaved as the fourth- and fifth-graders at the school,” she said. “One of the students told my daughter to stick her finger in the pencil sharpener, and she did. She came home with a Band-Aid on her finger. Obviously the teacher needs help. I know the board is strapped for money, but it’s unfortunate that someone gets hurt.” The parents also were concerned about the way the rectangular tables are positioned in the small classroom. “There are four rectangular tables in the classroom,” said Coleman. “The students need to be helped out of their chairs because the room is too small for the number of students in the classroom. One student fell out of his chair and was stomped on. Then all the students don’t fit at the rectangular tables, so two students are removed and isolated at another table outside the four rectangular tables.” Stacey Castro, who is a class mom and has a son in the class, said the parents are more than happy to volunteer in the class, but feels that the parents are not qualified to deal with the behavior issues. “I was helping out in one of the classes and a student threw scissors at a chair,” she said. “A guidance counselor sat in the class for a half-hour and the children behaved well for that half-hour, but after she left, the class was just chaos. We need a professional person to deal with the class.” Castro said the disruptions in the class may be hindering their ability to prepare for first grade. “Yes, we can help our children at home, but in school, it’s different,” Castro said. “They need to be ready for first grade, but I don’t see that happening. The issues are overtaking the lessons that are being taught. The lessons are being broken up over periods of time.” Linda Bakos, who has a son in the class, volunteered in the class for the first time last week. “I was just blown away,” she said. “Sometimes you hear stories and you don’t believe the severity of the story. A child was hiding in the closet and my heart was drawn to him. These children need individual attention. I don’t see my son ready for first grade. He doesn’t know how to read and he’s not getting enough attention because the class is disruptive and chaotic. There needs to be another adult in the class that the kids will respect. I want my child to excel and love school. There needs to be an aide.” Lisa Farmer, who is a class mom and has a son in the class, said the reason why the parents started the campaign is to help their children. “Our kids have a wonderful teacher,” she said. “It’s overwhelming for her and for us as parents. One parent may not make a difference, but if the parents bond together like this, we hope we can make a difference. These are for the children this year and the years to come. No child should be left behind.”