OCDSB now capping class sizes smaller than originally projected for new school year
Posted Sep 4, 2020 11:20:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board says average class sizes in elementary school this fall will be smaller than provincial requirements.
In a note to parents and on is website Friday, the OCDSB says the decision to place a cap on class sizes is based on provincial rules and funding.
However, not all grades or programs will be capped either.
“There is also something called ‘averaging,’” the note details. “This means that some class sizes are based on maintaining a district-wide average; most of the classes across the district have to be below the average, but a certain percentage can be above the average.”
For kindergarten, this means the max class size is capped at 29 students per class with one teacher and one early childhood educator for each class.
Grades one through three will not have a class above 23 students, with 90 per cent of classes in these grades being 20 or below.
Grades four through five will not have a max class size, and the system average must be 24.5 across all junior and intermediate classes.
Lastly, grades seven and eight will also not be capped, but must average 24.5 across all junior and intermediate classes.
“In the spring, we planned all of our classes for September based on these caps and averages,” the OCDSB explains. “This August, we had to re-do all of this planning in order to provide classrooms for students attending school in person and those attending virtual school. The class size caps and averages apply to both in person classes and remote classes, collectively.”
The board continues, “One way of meeting physical distancing requirements is to ensure maximum space for students attending school in person. With this in mind, every effort has been made to keep class sizes for in-person learning as low as possible. Classes above the average are more likely to occur in remote learning classes where students are not with an in-class cohort.”
For more details on the ministry requirements versus the original projected averages for September 2020, visit the OCDSB website.
