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SUNNY Temp: 41 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Thursday, November 28, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend September 4, 2002 Medford schools jammed More than 20 teachers have classes that exceed the agreed-on top number of students By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune Medford schools will have to juggle staff to bring down larger-than-projected class loads after a record 12,635 students crammed into already-overcrowded campuses Tuesday. Related story: � Donations buoy Eagle Point teachers The district, which lost 10 percent of its teachers from two years of budget cuts, saw spikes in class sizes and teacher loads on the first day of school. At North Medford High, a psychology teacher has 202 students a day, and at South Medford High, an English teacher has 195 students. The district will look for ways to lessen the burden on teachers who are teaching more than the maximum 180 students targeted by the district, said Superintendent Steve Wisely. South Medford has as many as 15 teachers who have more than the maximum, North Medford has five, Hedrick Middle School has six and McLoughlin Middle School has none, he said. The district raised the maximum number of students per teacher per day from 160 to 180 this year to compensate for fewer teachers. To partially make up the difference, teachers have taken on six teaching periods instead of the previous five. Wisely said many classes that have slightly more than 180 students will require only minor adjustments to bring down the load. "We really don’t want to have more than 180," he said. Elementary schools have also seen class sizes that have exceeded targets while others that have fallen below. Many kindergarten classes have fewer than 20 students, while other grades have seen increases above the maximum. To make up for a reduction of 22 elementary teachers this year, Wisely said the average class size had been increased by about three students. "We might be moving three to five teachers around the district to make this work," he said. "And we might also have to move some teachers within a school." Wisely anticipates that fluctuations in enrollment during the first week could swell the ranks in kindergarten classes. "We always go up by 500 students (total) by the end of September," he said. If enrollment continues increasing, South Medford, which had 1,972 on its first day, and North Medford, with 2,079, could have record enrollments this year. "I expect both schools to exceed where they were last year," said Wisely. Despite the logistics of fitting all these students into the overcrowded campuses, Wisely said enrollment figures will help the district. For every student enrolled, Medford schools get about $5,000 from the state. Wisely said the increasing number of students reflects an ongoing enrollment increase in Medford schools. Four years ago, beginning-day enrollment was 12,000, compared to 12,635 Tuesday. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S