Four kindergarten classrooms have been collapsed into three first grade classes. The other elementary schools have less than 22 kids in each classroom for the first grade classes. Fort Lee School 3, on the other hand, has 27-28 children in each of the first grade classes. Those numbers may increase with ongoing enrollment.  

First grade is a critical year where children strengthen their foundation in reading and writing skills.  Teachers need to spend more one-on-one time with each child to ensure his/her success. With large class sizes, so much of the teacher’s energy is spent in gathering the large number of kids and getting their attention. Overcrowding hinders the learning process and it must be addressed now!

As a parent of a first grader, I am concerned for my child’s progressing like he should in his reading, writing, and presentation skills.  His feedback has been:

“I didn’t get my turn reading out loud because there are too many kids.”

“First grade is boring. I liked kindergarten. We did more reading.”

We request the Superintendent and Fort Lee Board of Education to create a new first grade class to alleviate the Overcrowding in first grade classrooms at Fort Lee School #3.