Parents question overcrowding at Loomis Elementary

NEWTOWN » Questions from Loomis Elementary School parents regarding class size served as an unintended segue to next week’s demographic studies presentation at the Marple Newtown School Board facilities and transportation meeting.

The mothers spoke about possible overcrowding, especially in the third grade, and the potential effect on the school performance profile. Loomis had the lowest scores last year among the six buildings in the district, reported Superintendent Dr. Carol Cary in October 2016.

“Class size is a factor, but there are other factors,” she said at the recent board meeting. “We are investigating possible suggestions for each classroom to stretch the students to the growth we want.”

The district does not have maximum size requirements, instead choosing to evaluate the needs of each classroom individually, said board member Leonard Altieri. He added decisions about additional staffing, such as this year’s hiring of three more teachers district-wide at the elementary level and an extra classroom aide at Loomis, are based on input from the building principal and other members of the administration.

“We do not have a hard-and-fast rule about the number of students per classroom,” he noted. “If the administration comes to us and requests additional teachers in a building, we will hire them.”

The demographic study is the second commissioned by the district in the last several years, as a capacity study was completed in 2014 to confirm the amount of space in each building regarding the district’s instructional program. The new report predicts future increases in enrollment due to recent and anticipated development.

The study will be presented Oct. 10 following the budget committee meeting, which will begin 6:30 p.m. in the administration building, 40 Media Line Road.