Over-enrollment forces first graders out of their class
Parents of Katherine Finchy Elementary School reached out to KESQ News Channel 3 after they say the school forced first graders out of their classrooms this week because of over-enrollment.
Parents say they are upset that they didn’t get a say in the decision. Their children were sent home with a letter explaining they’d been removed from their original first grade class and switched into a kindergarten through first grade class.
Jamie Hanke, whose child is enrolled in the school, says the letter states that “they were going to be be taking her out of her first grade class due to over enrollment.I was appalled, you’re just going to rip them out, they never called me and I’m not okay. I’m not okay with that.”
Natalie Morett, another parent, says the combining of classes has been tough on her son who has ADHD.
“To put him back into class with kinder isn’t going to benefit him, it’s going to have a negative effect on him. how’s he going to meet his IEP goals when we’re back to square one, where we started last year?” said Morett.
The students were not only being moved to a new class, but also one with a substitute teacher at first.
Hanke and Morett say they’ve asked the principal to put their children back into their original class.
Marsha Boring, the Palm Springs Unified School District’s Principal coach says this scenario is not unusual, and the principal is following proper protocol.
“It always hard as a principal to make the decision who goes to the next class and it’s totally the principals decision on how he’s going to make the class. Parents don’t want the child moved but when the number is too big, they need to do that. do they want their child in a class of 30 or in 24, they’re going to get a better education if they’re in a smaller class.”
On Wednesday night a permanent teacher for the combined kindergarten and first grade class was hired.
Students will be sent home with a “meet and greet” invitation for parents to have an opportunity to meet their new teacher.
