More on Class Size ...

Mr. Fedako quickly offered his own opinion on the issue of class size by using the controversial research of Dr. Eric Hanushek to back up his theory.

As is the case with most issues such as this, Dr. Hanushek's research is countered by other research, such as the STAR Project Study from Princeton's Alan Krueger.

The Economic Policy Institutes's 2002 report The Class Size Debate took a look at both reports and offered some interesting analysis, writing:

Perhaps the most important of these is that both Hanushek and Krueger seem to agree that smaller class size can matter in some circumstances.

I'm claiming no specific expertise on the subject - other what I've learned through the personal experience with my kids is that they perform better in smaller class settings. This is particularly true given the special needs of our two younger children.

As the student population of the OLSD grows, the growth in the special needs and at risk student population will most likely grow at an even higher rate. Given the likelihood of this then it's within those areas where increased staffing will help the District continue to provide a high quality education for all of our kids.

Also, it seems to be evident that smaller class size are much more important in the early years of learning.

One of the other points it would be interesting to examine would be to benchmark the teacher-student ratio with our schools with other similar Districts in central Ohio.