Hope Technology School is a community of learners dedicated to providing an excellent education for everyone. We are a school started by parents and professionals who care deeply for our children's education and we feel there is a need that is not being filled in today's education. HTS is a result of our determination to include all children in a regular classroom and build a culture of support so that all children are successful in their learning. We have 10 reasons why we are one of the best programs in education; we will be addressing them over the next few weeks.
Small class sizes: The Department of Education, in their report on Class Size in September, 2000 says, "Parents and teachers have long known that smaller classes make a difference. Students in smaller classes have higher achievement levels, fewer discipline problems, and more personal attachment to their teachers and classmates." (DOE report: 2000) By putting fewer children together you impact several factors in their learning.
The American Federation of Teachers has said that class size is one of the important factors in learning: they have recommended class sizes of 15 to 18. Research in programs such as the state of Tennessee's STAR project has shown that to have impact on learning, the class size must be reduced to 15. Smaller class sizes allow students to receive more time from the teacher, more personal instruction and closer monitoring of their progress and work. Our student/teacher ratio is 6:1. Each class has no more than 12 students with a teacher and a para-educator.
Smaller classes have an effect on student learning beyond the years they receive it. Being in a small group allows more attention and stronger relationships. In a report, The Affects of Class Size on Student Achievement in Higher Education, Dillon and Kokkelenberg say that learning in a small group affects how the students feel about their learning, and that small group teaching affects their learning years later, kindergarten students felt the benefit of small classes in 3rd grade and did better on tests than those in larger classes. (p. 5) Finally smaller classes give teachers and students more options for instruction, allowing more time for individualized teaching and giving each student more time with their teacher.
Our smaller classes alone impact the learning that each child does in the school. We have nine more reasons to explore in the coming days.
Next: Flexible Grouping