My elementary class had 52 students. We all learned to read, write, and calculate. Most went on to college and based uponea reunion I went to 9 years ago, those present appeared to be doing well.

There is no magic in numbers when it comes to class size and people tend to over state the educational advantage of small numbers.

I think SBS has been very lucky to have a small enrollment as compared to WAS. IN WAS the class size is about 22- 23 in First grade, not mentioning that there are some special need students in them! So if it is just 22-23 regular students, it should not matter. Besides, in lots of countries out of USA, the class size is as big as 30-40 and the children still do very well! So I agree with James, there isn't a magic number when it comes to class size.

Perfection is not only costly, but a futile exercise. It is timely that we learn to fix problems without throwing money at them. There are many ways to work towards a goal - the goal should not be a fixed teacher to student ratio, the goal should be excellence in education - let's step back and rethink what we are talking about.

In truth, Ms. Turnbull is actually the victim of Real Estate Agent hype. The problems will correct themselves as the case against a move to Chatham becomes more obvious for families. Traffic problems, crowded schools, new superintendents, teachers leaving with 2 weeks left in the school year...the dirty laundry is starting to get hung out.

Most educators feel 30 students with "parent" involvement is a good class size. Let's face it most education is done in the home and the results are measured in the class room.

Give me a break. Mrs. Turnbull you can afford to send your kids to private school if you don't like 23-24 per class. What a joke.

If you see class sizes creep north of 25 per class, then start thinking about it. But class size isn't any larger now at SBS than it has been in the past. With that in mind, perhaps you should take a look at the profile for Chatham High school on the web site for a reality check. Most of these kids went to Chatham elementary schools with the kind of class sizes you see now. Check out the SAT scores, the number of National Merit commended and scholarship students, the types of colleges/universities our kids are attending. Take a look at the number of Ivies, top technical universities and major research universities our graduating seniors are attending this Fall (its published). We don't need to pay for class sizes of 20 students per room. If your kids can't make it in this school system - its not class size that is the problem. Give us a break on property taxes with that extra money Christie sent us instead of reflexively looking for new reasons to spend it. Sheesh.

A better number to track would be how many of these CHS graduates are actually still in the colleges they spent their senior year bragging about? I mean where are they 2 years after graduating from CHS? What's the sense of bragging that your senior got into Georgetown U., Dartmouth or U.Texas if they only stayed there one year? Many of the past CHS graduates are at CCM now for whatever reason..financial, academic. CCM is a great option for the first two years, but why aren't those numbers tracked by the CHS guidance office? Might not be feasible, but those numbers would be interesting to see.

Could someone post a link or part of a link to a document that lists the colleges attended by this graduating class. I have been all over the HS site and I only see the 2010 report on graduates which does not list schools. Thanks.

Mayor the class of 2011 was the weakest compared to the last 2 years. Not a smart class on the whole. Also the college destinations are right on the Chatham Patch.

Does it really matter what college one goes to? Seriously, are we that superficial that we need to track where our kids go to college? Seems very shallow.

​"A mind is a precious thing to waste, so why are millions of America’s students wasting theirs by going to college? All of us who have been there know an undergraduate education is primarily a four year vacation interrupted by periodic bouts of cramming or Google plagiarizing, but at least it used to serve a purpose. It weeded out underachievers and proved at a minimum that you could pass an SAT test. For those who made it to the good schools, it proved that your parents had enough money to either bribe administrators or hire SAT tutors to increase your score by 500 points. And a degree represented that the graduate could “party hearty” for long stretches of time and establish social networking skills that would prove invaluable later on at office cocktail parties or interactively via Facebook. College was great as long as the jobs were there." Read more here http://www.pimco.com/EN/Insights/Pages/School-Daze-School-Daze-Good-Old-Golden-Rule-Days.aspx

Thanks for the follow-up Mayor. However, the number I'd like to see isn't which CHS graduates are attending CCM the semester right after graduation, but which CHS graduates ultimately end up there a year or two after leaving CHS to attend 4yr. undergraduate schools? I suspect that the number is alot higher than most parents think it is. It would indicate a real weakness in the CHS guidance department's ability to help place students in an appropriate college in the first place. If CHS graduates in any number are dropping or flunking out of the colleges they first attended straight out of high school, that's a number worth looking at. @K.F. Rogers..being a college graduate is so very important in today's hyper competitive economy. Wish the job market wasn't so bad, but hopefully things will turn around soon. I also wish that a year of undergraduate school wasn't between $30,000-$50,000. Something should be done about that, because very shortly the average middle class family won't be able to educate their children at all, but that's another story for another day...

Apparently, kids don't flunk out of college anymore. College grade inflation is a hot topic these days. The NYTimes just published research findings last week revealing trends in college grades, "A’s and B’s represented 73 percent of all grades awarded at public schools, and 86 percent of all grades awarded at private schools." Here's the article: http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/14/the-history-of-college-grade-inflation/. We're getting a little off-topic on this thread, but a curious subject, indeed.

Yikes!! The grammar, punctuation and syntax in several of the comments left in this thread are deplorable!! For those trying to make the point that they are no worse off as a product of larger size classes, you might consider proofreading your comments first or asking someone who benefitted from a smaller class size experience to write your comments for you. Ironically, many of you are proving Ms. Turnbull’s point.

You have all been so busy sniping at each other that you have strayed far off topic and I strongly suggest that you re-read this thread and take notice.

I went to public schools ("Down South" at that!) until my graduate education at a Top 10 and highly competitive private MBA program in NYC. I have lived in Chatham for over 12 years and now have 2 children in Chatham schools (Middle). In comparing their elementary years to those of my own childhood I do not see any measurable advantage to the smaller class sizes they experienced in their elementary years than I did in my own (not that I took close count in either instance). Rather I think a student's success depends primarily upon their own personal drive and intellectual capacity in combination with the support they get from their family. As a divorced, professional (successful senior executive) Mom, I have never had the luxury of spare time, much less the inclination, to so closely monitor the size of my children's classes each year. Not to mention I have never heard of the ideal class size of 20 that you state, much less validate the model that your ideal number is derived from and as to how it correlates to the socio-economic/demographic metrics of those families served by the SBS district.

In conclusion, before you, Ms. Turnbull, and your 70 friends, start demanding how the Chatham Shool district budgets it's limited funds, please research your facts and present a knowledgeable and convincing argument.

Bravo ! I'd rather be in Maui too.

It is interesting how you say that Ms. Turnbull and others "demanded" an extra teacher, when the article says that they "asked". In your post, you ask that Ms. Turnbull present her facts even though the article says that she presented their gathered evidence. You seem to discount the opinion of Dr. Lasusa, who is an expert in education and educational studies, who said that "I think that you'd be hardpressed to find an educator who doesn't support smaller class sizes, especially at the primary level". Do you have facts and/or studies that discount Dr. Lasusa's position? The Chatham School District target class size for first grade is 21. This has been set by prior Administrations and Boards of Education. Ms. Turnbull is simply asking that the Board and Administration keep to those targets.

Mrs. Turnbull's tone could certainly be construed as demanding. Simply another example of some of the pushy entitled and righteous parents that seem to feel they know everything.