New schedule results in higher average class sizes across the district, teachers feel impact.

The A and B day schedule South took up this past school year has had its effect on everyone; and now, approaching the end of the second semester, these effects are more prominent than ever. Specifically, many students and teachers alike have been feeling the stress and frustration of South’s classroom environments. This is because student numbers are higher than ever, leading classrooms to exceed capacity to a point that is impossible to ignore. 

Madison Billings, a South English teacher, commented on how the teacher transition of having four classes a grading period last year to now having six has affected her own classrooms. 

“This year is the biggest [class sizes] I’ve ever had,” Billings said. “I have close to 200 students [overall]. When I have that much on my plate to grade, I just can’t give the feedback that I want.”

The ever-growing number of students at South and the static teacher population is especially heavy on those teaching and taking elective classes. Class rosters vary depending on subject and grade, and Billings mentioned how high the number of students in upperclassmen English classes is. More students wanting to take classes with limited numbers of sections means more chairs in the classroom filled, leading to more work for teachers.

In addition to increased teacher workload, larger class sizes make it tough to build relationships and classroom culture. Britta Ellis, South Eugene math teacher, sees this as one of the most important tools a teacher can have: the ability to balance academics with getting to know students on a personal level. 

“I find that the overall number of students I have [right now],” Ellis said, “makes it really difficult for me to get to know everybody – [to] know who’s playing what sport, who’s involved in drama, etc.”

All of this unrest at South leads to the question of whether or not other high schools across the 4J district are experiencing the same sort of class size inflation. According to data provided by the district, South had the largest average class size at 25.6 students in 2023 out of South, North Eugene, Churchill, and Sheldon, with the average across the schools adding up to 24.9 students. Before COVID, class sizes had far higher averages (with South reaching 32 students per class in 2018), which have now gone down, likely in partbecause of the growing number of students choosing to do online school. Last school year, with the trimester schedule, the overall average class size for 4J was 23.3, and it still remained true that South’s average class sizes were slightly higher than the district average.

Recently, Billings was invited to observe several English classes across the district, some with as few as 20 students.

“From a teacher standpoint, it felt … like a good learning environment,” Billings said, talking about how the teachers with fewer students seemed to know them better, and were able to keep everyone accountable for the upholding of the classroom space.

With the many factors that shape class sizes, there’s no definitive answer to the question of whether or not South will reach a more comfortable place in the future. The decisions made by the district for things such as scheduling and class size caps are intertwined; one change will inevitably change the other along with it. This makes it more challenging to build relationships with students, more workload for planning, instruction and feedback, ultimately revealing the negative impacts of class size on the quality of education.

By Abby Ketchum