Students walk into class on their first day of school, excited to meet new classmates and see old friends. When they go to look for a seat, they realize that there is no place to sit. The teacher says, “Sorry, we have to get more desks,” as some students look around and see that there are over 30 students in their class.
Many classes are overpopulated from new students registering over the summer, and because of staff being cut due to the declining enrollment that took place last year. This year the overpopulation has reached the point where some teachers have to get additional desks for their classes. Students are taking note of this issue in their classes as well, and have been noticing that this is affecting their ability to learn and retain the information being taught in their classes.
Senior Helen Pan has 39 students in her Calculus BC class. “It is hard to hear the teacher or concentrate on a subject as the class quickly goes into conversation,” Pan said.
This overpopulation issue is not going unnoticed by administration. Many students have had schedule changes in order to even out class numbers, but the school has around 2,425 students enrolled this year, so there have been challenges meeting individual needs. However, they plan to keep making an effort to make classes as comfortable and well-balanced as possible.
“We are doing everything that we can to ensure that our classes are not overcrowded and that students get to take the classes they want to take,” Principal Robert Frasca said. “It is hard because our schedule is tight, so that causes us a lot of administrative stress, but we do the best we can with the resources that we have.”
On the flip side of the overpopulation issue, there are also classes on campus that are underpopulated. Due to the number of students enrolled and how many juniors and seniors take morning and afternoon classes off, certain upper level classes, especially first and sixth period classes, are small.
“I don’t necessarily have overcrowding, per se. I have nine students in one class and 35 in another. The balance is all crazy,” AP Government teacher Mr. Malkovich said.
Despite the chaos surrounding the schedules and the amount of students in the classes, both the school administration and the principal have been, and still are, making changes to accommodate students and their schedules. And as for teachers, they are putting in the effort to help students learn their needed curriculum. While there is uncertainty, there is also an air of optimism on how to deal with this issue.
“We have to learn to adapt and adjust. There’s things that aren’t going to change. [You’ve] got to just kind of roll with it,” Malkovich said.
