Q & A

Anaheim City School District Supt. Roberta Thompson

Anaheim City School District started its second semester this week with smaller first- and second-grade classes: no more than 20 pupils to each teacher. That way, the district can take advantage of a state bonus paid to districts that reduce class size in the primary grades. Because of a shortage of classroom space, however, Anaheim needed a waiver from the state to set up its system, which uses teams of three teachers responsible for two classrooms. Times correspondent Jennifer Leuer spoke with Supt. Roberta Thompson about the district’s plan.

Q: How is Anaheim City’s class size reduction plan different from those of other Orange County districts?

A: It’s different in that we’re able to put three teachers into two classrooms. In most cases, the kids’ home space will be the room they have now. The new teacher will come in, and the teachers will move between classrooms differently for instructional purposes.

Q: How has that changed instruction in the classroom?

A: It’s created possibilities in how instruction is done, which will benefit students. It requires teachers to think and utilize their strengths as a team and produce the best instruction program for a group of children. That can happen if teachers have their own classrooms, but it has to happen in this situation. It tears down the walls that isolate and segregate teachers and puts them in a position to combine strengths. The enthusiasm of the group has just been really phenomenal. The 85 new teachers are so pumped up and excited to get out there. And the feedback from the established teachers has been exciting because they’re really looking at their classrooms in a different way. There’s a lot of satisfaction from pulling together people’s strengths and putting together something better than what one person could do. There’s an energy to working with people that you can’t get working in isolation.

Q: Is your district considering reducing class sizes at the third-grade level too?

A: Probably not. We’re very concerned about deficit funding. We’re waiting for more guidelines from the state. Until we know how much of a deficit it will cause, we have to wait. Our real concern is that the greater the deficit funding, the more that robs us of money that can be used for facilities. Right now we really need to put money aside for facilities.