Parent Question: I wanted to double check on the teacher/student ratio for next year. It's my understanding that IA is not expanding the class sizes and the ratio will remain at 20:1. Is that correct?
Answer: The student teacher ratio for next year will be approximately the same at 20:1. We've had a couple classes where, just due to how we had combo classes and two kinders last year, there may be a couple extra kids. This may go back down because of families that are not able to come to Mission Valley.
Parent Question: Also, I wanted to know if there will still be aides in the classroom or if you've have to let go of the aides due to budget constraints.
Answer: We're still working on aides for the classrooms. What we'd really like to see here is more parent participation for those who can make it in during the day. We have a few thoughts about having some rotating aides so that if a classroom needs assistance then someone would be available. What we found last year was that not all the classes needed an aide every day.
Parent Question: One more thing, it would be nice if we could have a meeting to discuss how the new location and budget constraints will affects the programs at IA. For example, how will PE be provided now, what type of partnership programs will be available, etc. I'm curious to know if Playwell Technologies and Mad Science will be returning. If not, what programs will be put in their place? These are some of the things I'm wondering about for next year and I think some of the other families might benefit from knowing as well.
Answer: As for budget, we're still waiting to hear from our back office manager about that. Like all public schools our numbers will be lower for next year but we're still waiting to hear exactly how much we're being cut. At worst it's looking like a cut of $700 per student.
As for the site, there are a lot of community resources in the area that we'll be tapping into. There's a YMCA, a golf course, and walking trails that we know of around the area. Additionally, we're in the same building as Cloud 9 shuttles, so we're looking into partnering with them for transportation.
We do have some outside space, it's not a ton but it's certainly workable. As for PE, Michelle is securing PE partnerships that can work both indoors and outdoors. Some of these include yoga/stretching, conditioning, hiking, obstacle course, and PE games. Possibly golf for older kids. Legos with Playwell tek and Mad Science are too expensive. If you know of any companies that might like to sponsor these programs let us know. Michelle is trying to have a Legos employee do some outside consulting for us. Mad Science we may contract with during Project time and share it between different classes once a quarter. The enrichment that Michelle is most excited by right now is puppetry, singing, photography, film, art, and computer technology.
If you have more questions, send them our way!
Danielle
Answer: The student teacher ratio for next year will be approximately the same at 20:1. We've had a couple classes where, just due to how we had combo classes and two kinders last year, there may be a couple extra kids. This may go back down because of families that are not able to come to Mission Valley.
Parent Question: Also, I wanted to know if there will still be aides in the classroom or if you've have to let go of the aides due to budget constraints.
Answer: We're still working on aides for the classrooms. What we'd really like to see here is more parent participation for those who can make it in during the day. We have a few thoughts about having some rotating aides so that if a classroom needs assistance then someone would be available. What we found last year was that not all the classes needed an aide every day.
Parent Question: One more thing, it would be nice if we could have a meeting to discuss how the new location and budget constraints will affects the programs at IA. For example, how will PE be provided now, what type of partnership programs will be available, etc. I'm curious to know if Playwell Technologies and Mad Science will be returning. If not, what programs will be put in their place? These are some of the things I'm wondering about for next year and I think some of the other families might benefit from knowing as well.
Answer: As for budget, we're still waiting to hear from our back office manager about that. Like all public schools our numbers will be lower for next year but we're still waiting to hear exactly how much we're being cut. At worst it's looking like a cut of $700 per student.
As for the site, there are a lot of community resources in the area that we'll be tapping into. There's a YMCA, a golf course, and walking trails that we know of around the area. Additionally, we're in the same building as Cloud 9 shuttles, so we're looking into partnering with them for transportation.
We do have some outside space, it's not a ton but it's certainly workable. As for PE, Michelle is securing PE partnerships that can work both indoors and outdoors. Some of these include yoga/stretching, conditioning, hiking, obstacle course, and PE games. Possibly golf for older kids. Legos with Playwell tek and Mad Science are too expensive. If you know of any companies that might like to sponsor these programs let us know. Michelle is trying to have a Legos employee do some outside consulting for us. Mad Science we may contract with during Project time and share it between different classes once a quarter. The enrichment that Michelle is most excited by right now is puppetry, singing, photography, film, art, and computer technology.
If you have more questions, send them our way!
Danielle
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