We are troubled by the district’s choice to reduce class sections for rising first graders. While we have already sent dozens of emails expressing our individual concerns, we now come together to urge Locust Valley Central School District to consider the following factors before rendering a final decision.  

This group of kindergarteners was uniquely impacted by the pandemic. Many missed out on preschool, developmentally unable to benefit from remote learning. Some of them suffer social-emotional delays, while others struggle academically. This is the case for all children in their age group. Peer-reviewed research has shown that preschoolers in particular experienced covid-related learning loss. Children aged 3-5 demonstrated significantly greater social-emotional problems when compared to national normative data. It is clear that crucial early learning has been compromised for rising first and second graders.

Our children went from non-existant or partial preschool into small and welcoming kindergarten classrooms, where they received ample individual attention. During the ELA portion of the day, most of them were learning in groups of 9-11 students. We know that a class size of 19–20 remains within the norm for our district. However, this doubles the size in which many of our students are accustomed to learning. It would be a radical adjustment for an already compromised kindergarten class. Teachers will be under enormous pressure to manage the unique needs of our rising first-graders in such a setting.

No other grade in the district is confined to only two class choices. With only two first grade classrooms, teachers will be unable to develop rosters according to the individual strengths and weaknesses of their students. The composition of classroom communities serves an essential role in providing an environment for positive learning experiences. Malleable class rosters are necessary to provide a fair distribution of needs and abilities. Diverse classrooms offer opportunities for crucial interactions amongst peers. This is already a small grade. Locking them into two class rosters will drastically limit their ability to experience mixed social circles over the next five years. As their parents, we feel this is unacceptable.

Because one class will be ICT and the other Gen-Ed, children with IEPs will go into the ICT class, while those with 504s will end up in gen-ed. This will overload the Gen-Ed class with classroom management difficulties. There is simply not enough flexibility to evenly place children who struggle with behavioral skills. This is unfair both to the children who struggle and to those who do not. While a small number of students may flourish in either classroom, most will be matched to the ICT or Gen-Ed environment. This placement is likely to follow our children throughout their elementary school careers. While one solution is to create three first-grade classes, another option is to offer two ICT classes.

We have reached out to teachers, administrators and other school personnel and it is clear that many share our concerns about consolidating this kindergarten class. As we began to talk to each other, it became clear that most of us believe the district is not considering the best interest of our children when making administrative decisions. This feeling is pervasive, reaching beyond the issue of class size. Many were concerned about the structure of the special education program as well. There has been a lack of clear, honest, and open communication. Rumors abound, adding fuel to an ever expanding fire. As parents, we find ourselves living with a deep fear that our children’s needs will not be met, and we are helpless to make a difference.

Signatures will be sent to Dr. Graham, Dr. Kyvelos, Ms. Goldthwaite, Mr. McElhiney, and Mrs. Wasserman. Please join us in sharing your concerns publicly at the Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, June 14th at 7 PM. If you would like to coordinate your public comment, please reach out to Dory Agazarian (dagazarian@gmail.com) and Christine Burke (cb.christineburke@gmail.com). 

1 We can provide copies these studies if you like– some of the data is drawn from NIEER’s December 2020 Preschool Learning Activities Survey and the National Health Interview Survey.  We can also cite peer-reviewed international studies that have reached the same conclusion.