We, the undersigned parents, caregivers, and community members of West Hartford, call on the Board of Education to take immediate, concrete action to reduce class sizes across our schools and protect the educational programming that drew many of us to West Hartford in the first place.

The reason for urgency:
The 2026/2027 budget currently under consideration funds classroom sizes at the elevated levels resulting from the 2024/2025 budget cuts to our teaching staff. Each school across the district enacted classroom consolidations: Wolcott kindergarten had 22 children in each of their three sections (which would be against guidelines in several of our neighboring towns); Bugbee had a 1st grade that exceeded even our own higher guidelines with one section as large as 24 kids; Charter Oak, a higher need school, had 24 kids in several of its 4th and 5th sections. Despite ongoing parent advocacy, the focus of the Board discussion is on maintaining and reducing the current budget, not increasing funding for teachers to reduce class sizes. 

The issue is clear:  
Current class size guidelines — established in 1988 and last reviewed by the Board in 2012 — do not reflect the academic, social, and behavioral needs of today’s WHPS students. Since then, classrooms have become more complex, with greater variability in learning levels, increased student needs, increased distraction from connected devices, and heightened expectations placed on teachers.

Why this matters:

- Student outcomes decline as class size rises. Extensive research shows that smaller classes—particularly in elementary grades—lead to stronger literacy, math proficiency, and long-term academic success.
- Teachers are stretched beyond capacity. Larger classes reduce individualized attention, increase burnout, and make effective differentiation nearly impossible.
- West Hartford is falling behind peer districts. Many comparable communities (Avon, Glastonbury, Simsbury) are prioritizing smaller class sizes as a core investment in educational quality - and achieving better academic outcomes as evidenced by their standardized SBAC scores. 

We are asking for specific, measurable commitments:

1. Update and lower official class size guidelines to reflect best practices:
   - K-2: maximum 18–20 students  
   - Grades 3-5: maximum 20–22 students  
   - Grades 6-12: maximum 22–24 students  

2. Prioritize class size reduction in budgeting decisions, including staffing allocations and capital planning.

3. Create a clear, time-bound implementation plan with measurable milestones.

4. Protect our district’s programming that makes West Hartford the magnet for so many young families from out of state. 

This is a strategic investment - not a luxury.  

Class size is one of the few levers directly controlled by the district that has a proven, lasting impact on student success. Continuing to follow outdated guidelines is a choice and it is undermining educational quality.

We urge the Board to act decisively and align policy with the needs of today’s classrooms.

Signatories: