School Committee Addresses District Enrollment and Space Concerns

The Bedford School Committee received a presentation from Superintendent Jon Sills during their Oct. 23 meeting addressing the troubles currently facing Bedford Public Schools regarding enrollment and class size. 

Sills first presented numbers on current enrollment and class size as well as annual predictions of the two through 2020, based on a 2009 study completed by the New England School Development Council (NESDEC).

According to the NESDEC study, the predicted enrollment for Bedford High School for the 2012-2013 school year was 835 students. The enrollment at BHS this year is 881 students. 

BHS is designed to hold 850 students, according to Sills.

"We are feeling new pressures at the high school," Sills said.

The unanticipated enrollment increases at BHS have created problems with class size and spacing at the high school a year before the NESDEC study predicted enrollment would rise above the 850 student capacity the high school is currently designed for. 

"BHS enrollment has created a critical need for more teachers and unexpected space needs," Sills said. 

There are currently 49 classes at BHS that have more than 25 students, the number of students per class at the high school level that promotes a good learning environment, Sills said. 

This represents a dramatic increase in the number of BHS classes with more than 25 students over the last three years. In 2010 there were six BHS classes with more than 25 students, and in 2011 there were 29 BHS classes with more than 25 students.

There are 15 classes at BHS this year with 26 students, seven classes with 27 students, 12 classes with 28 students, four classes with 29 students, four classes with 30 students, 2 classes with 31 students and 1 class with 32 students.

"We've really moved into an environment where we can't justify these numbers," Sills said.

The effect of higher enrollment numbers and as a result larger class sizes on the learning and teaching process is two fold, Sills said.

First, classrooms become overcrowded, with students "on top of one another," and second, teachers have over 120 students between all of their classes, according to Sills, allowing them less time to devote attention to each student. 

The growing enrollment and class size at BHS leads to other issues as well, according to Sills.

"As the numbers grow, scheduling inefficiencies grow and it becomes hard to move kids around," Sills said.