Schools

Are More Combination Classes a Bad Thing?

A San Bruno Park school board member recently said that the increase in combination classes this year is a direct result of the decision not to close any schools. Did the community get it right?

During last week's San Bruno Park School Board meeting, trustee Dr. Henry Sanchez cited an issue that stirred up a significant amount of controversy last school year.

Sanchez noted that there will be 20 combination classes taught throughout the district this school year—five more than last year.

The reason, he said, was simple: the school district didn't close any schools.

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While Superintendent David Hutt said because of the need to save money and reduce the number of combination classes—reasons prompted by the decision to move all sixth graders to Parkside Intermediate—parents rejected that idea and chastised the school district. The and voted against closing any schools.

Sanchez said the result will be a reality many might not have anticipated: one teacher responsible for educating a large number of students in different grades.

Find out what's happening in San Brunowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"People didn’t realize that not closing any schools resulted in an increase in combination classes," Sanchez said to nearly empty audience at last week's meeting.

What do you think?


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