Fears Of Overcrowded Classes Are Reality For Brooklyn Elementary School

By: Lindsey Christ

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There have been warnings for a while that education budget cuts would likely mean more students in crowded classrooms, but now that seems to be the reality in an elementary school in Mill Basin, Brooklyn. NY1's Education reporter Lindsey Christ filed the following report.

P.S. 236 is a popular school in Mill Basin, Brooklyn. But one class in particular has way too many kids. A second grade classroom is crammed with 36 students, five over what the fire code allows.

"There's a lot of people and there's really no room," said one student.

"Everyone is all over the place," said another.

In his very first writing assignment of the year, classmate Michael Romeo wrote, "The class is too loud."

"He's distracted normally, okay, so a child like him is going to be even more distracted with the 36 kids wanting the teacher's attention," said Jill Romeo, Michael's mother.

Zuhdieh Ahmad's son came home with similar problems.

"It's very noisy. He's very distracted, and he loves to learn," said Ahmad.

Students said they do not spend all their time in the overstuffed room. When it comes time for group work, some groups just don't fit.

"It's better in the hallway because there really is not a lot of noise," said one student.

After several years of budget cuts, the school system has several thousand fewer teachers.

School Chancellor Dennis Walcott said he expects class size to rise by one or two students across the system, but advocates say they are hearing in many cases, the numbers are much worse.

"I've never seen it so bad. I am getting lots of anguished emails from parents and teachers," said Leonie Haimson of Class Size Matters. "Class sizes in kindergarten are up to 27 in many schools. In the other grades, it's up to 35 or more. I've heard of high school classes that are at 41."

The teacher's union collects class size figures every September. Those will be out later this week, but union officials told NY1 the numbers are worse.

At many schools, hiring an extra teacher is not in the budget, yet parents at P.S. 236 said that is what they want.

"They need another second grade class. There is no other solution," said Jill Romeo.

Department of Education officials said while schools cannot afford another teacher or do not have the space, they can officially cap enrollment and move some students to a different school.

The DOE is now working with P.S. 236 to do just that, which is not the best way for a seven-year-old to start the school year.