This petition has been created for Shaker Heights residents to express concern regarding class sizes at Fernway Elementary School. Currently classes range from 24 to 26 students with one teacher.  While many of us believe these class sizes are large in any K-4 environment, the situation is accentuated by the small spaces available at Fernway.

Our concerns can be summarized as follows:

1. Fernway is the smallest building in the district (less than 30,000 sq. ft.), yet has a roughly equivalent number of students and classes as significantly larger buildings such as Boulevard (48,000 sq. ft).

2. With about 350 students and over 30 staff, Fernway exceeds the capacity listed by the district for the building (366) and is the only elementary building to exceed its stated capacity.

3. Large class sizes within such a small area constrain the physical space available to both students and staff.

4. These numbers impact teachers' ability to meet the District's goal of tailoring education to each student.

5. Fernway's lack of auditorium, cafeteria, assembly space and adequate resource facilities further exacerbates the issues raised by class size.  Many spaces must serve multiple purposes, including the use of hallways for instruction time.

At a time when the District is embracing individualized education and instituting new curriculums relating to the International Baccalaureate program, our concern is that the existing class size is detrimental to the educational environment in the building.  We are aware of the difficulty in limiting enrollment at any building, but with most of the elementary buildings being underutilized, we would hope that the district could relieve the over-capacity at Fernway, while perhaps lowering class sizes throughout the K-4 buildings in the district.

Please consider signing this online petition showing your support for reducing class sizes at Fernway Elementary School. Your signature is needed by March 2, 2011 so that any changes can be implemented before registration begins this spring as we look ahead to the 2011-2012 school year.

Sincerely,

Alex and Jennifer Liston Dykema
Rick Smith
Diana Spadoni
Hallie Stewart

Parents of Fernway Elementary School