Many Kansas parents are seeing increases in their children’s class sizes.

“‘My son came home and said ‘dad we even have direction we can walk in the classroom,’ said Josh Bowland, father of fourth grade student. ‘It is like they have street signs in the class, they can only walk certain ways because it is so crowded.’

Bowland spoke to the Andover School Board on Sept. 8, along with two other parents, about his son’s fourth grade class being overcrowded. The class has 29 students when guidelines only allow for 28.

“’We feel that it is detrimental to our child’s development. He comes home every day mentally exhausted,’ said Judy Thomas, mother of a fourth grade student. ‘We ask our teachers to keep track of 29 kids in a classroom, kids who are straining to hear what is going on.’”…

“’By the time the teacher gets to the back of the class to help her it is time to go on to another subject,’ said Boatwright. ‘We spent $4,000 last year because she was behind in reading and math. I am concerned that we are in the same boat this year as we were last year.’

“Gibbs said the district is working as efficiently as it can with the budget it has. There a 5,100 students in the Andover district and 11 different schools. But for parents like Boatwright, that isn’t quite enough, and she asked the board of education to put themselves in her shoes.

“’Our students are being left behind. Think about if it were your child,’ said Boatwright. ‘As parents we will still do it everything we can to make her successful. We like this school district and we obviously would like to stay.’”

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