Dear Michael Thomas, Chief of Schools, Minneapolis Public Schools; Lucilla Yira, Associate Superintendent, Minneapolis Public Schools; and Minneapolis Public Schools administrators and school board members:

Class Size Matters—for instructional purposes, health issues, and safety concerns. Marcy Open School is currently overcrowded and overburdened with too many students. We are past building capacity, but still we continue to have students assigned to our school, whether they’ve elected an Open curriculum or have even heard of it. The facts are alarming:

• Since October 15, over 70 students have been added to the Marcy Open School community.
• Though we are a magnet school, students who have NOT specifically chosen our magnet program (and often haven’t even heard of it) are continuously assigned to us
• The kindergarten classes each have at least 30 students in them.
• The sixth grade science classes have 35+ students.
• Class sizes are hovering at or above 30 for the majority of teachers.
• We have not received more support staff to compensate for the increase in students.

This needs to stop.

Last year, we rejoiced as a school community when we achieved “Celebration” status, but now that status is in peril. How did our status become jeopardized? Increasing class sizes.

Achievement gap research clearly shows that class size matters.

In our eyes, the district is trying to improve the lower performing schools’ rankings at the expense of Marcy students and staff. At Marcy, classrooms designed for 22 students now hold far more. Elsewhere in the district, schools that are underperforming have significantly lower class sizes and are not receiving new students. Why have we become the de facto school for new students? The current student placement process is unfair and unacceptable.

We, the undersigned, request that an immediate freeze be placed on Marcy Open School enrollment and that Administration leaders work with Marcy staff to find ways to mitigate overcrowding and boost classroom resources, both short- and long-term. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,