Size of Center Street Kindergarten Classes Concerns Herricks Parents

One of the first things that was addressed at Thursday night’s meeting of the Herricks Board of Education at the community center was the Center Street School’s kindergarten classes, which have three sections that are two and three students over the cap.

Herricks Board of Education President Christine Turner made a statement toward the beginning of the meeting citing that there are several sections throughout the district that are over the cap.

Of having classes above the cap, Turner said that “this is not something we do lightly.”

The board decided to put a teacher’s aide into the section that previously only had one teacher. The other two sections had two adult professionals in each class.

Superintendent Dr. John Bierwirth said that the teacher’s aide was placed in the classroom because of safety concerns.

Describing what kindergarten is like now, Turner said that “it’s the foundation now for everything.”

Dr. Bierwirth said one of the issues the district has regarding attendance is that several parents wait until the Friday of Labor Day weekend or the day after Labor Day to register their children for school. Because of this and other issues, “teachers are scrambling, principals are scrambling and parents are left up in the air,” he said.

Of adding a teacher’s aide to the kindergarten class that previously only had one adult in the classroom, the superintendent said, “that’s what the board felt we could do under the circumstances.”