Sen. Patty Murray Introduces FOCUS Class Size Legislation

US Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) has introduced legislation that would limit class sizes and push recruitment for better teachers.

U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced the Facilitating Outstanding Classrooms Using Size Reduction (FOCUS) Act of 2011 [bill summary, PDF], which the Senator says would provide states with the resources they need to reduce class sizes across the early grade levels in order to provide students and teachers with an educational environment that encourages maximum student academic growth. Murray’s bill will also put in place evaluation tools to assess the program’s effectiveness.

“Studies show that smaller classes help children improve in all areas of life. As a mother and former teacher, I have a deep commitment to our nation’s students and the environment in which they’re educated,” said Senator Patty Murray. “The FOCUS Act will provide school districts with the resources they need to reduce class sizes, recruit qualified teachers, and offer students the educational environment they need to learn and succeed.”

Specifically, the FOCUS Act would:

· Create a grant program to reduce class sizes to 18 students in Kindergarten through third grade and beyond. States would receive funding to allocate to local educational agencies to hire new qualified teachers and to create a continuum of small classes for students in the early grades.

· Create a separate authorization for Class Size Reduction efforts to prevent them from competing with teacher professional development and training funds in Title II of NCLB.

· Provide districts with the ability to recruit highly qualified teachers to these new classrooms and provide the professional development needed to promote educator retention and implement high-quality instructional practices.

· Increase accurate data, research, and resources available nationally on class size.

· Create an evaluation of the class size reduction program to assess and report on the program’s effectiveness.

According to Senator Murray, research shows that participating in small classes has increasing academic benefits from year to year, both in the early grades when classes are small and in subsequent years when students are placed in larger classes. Students who were in small classes in early grades were found to be making better grades in high school and taking more advanced courses. At the end of fifth grade, students who were in small classes in first through third grades were about half a school year ahead of students from larger classes in all core subjects–reading, language arts, math, and science.

Senator Murray is a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee that oversees Education legislation as well as the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees education funding.

Comments

Sen. Patty Murray Introduces FOCUS Class Size Legislation | International Education News | Renascence School International | Panama City | private preschool, elementary school, middle school

October 7, 2011 at 8:20 am

[...] and teachers with an educational environment that encourages maximum student academic growth.”(more) Comments (0) Go to main news [...]

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Sandra Spiess

October 7, 2011 at 1:58 pm

As an educator myself thank you for pushing for change and becoming an advocate. People only look at the cost of such changes but never realize the impact large class sizes have on our children.

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Davidk J. Krupp

October 8, 2011 at 6:17 am

We also must have excellent principals, a complete curriculum from the earliest grades, and direct systematic instruction.

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R. Diedrich

October 9, 2011 at 2:28 am

This will make a huge difference in how well students learn. It is insane to expect teachers in HS to juggle 200 students and I cannot fathom the challenges a third grade teacher confronts with35 8 year olds. All thIs teacher bashing has become obnoxious. As a teacher, I know there are many colleagues who are not adequate, fit and/or qualified for duty. But by and large most teachers are heroically dedicated and far more educated than we can afford to be. The people run schools( districts and unions ) see public education as a business.they want to spend as little as they can on relevant resources and the hired help, so they cram 3500 teens in crumbling campuses built for a mere 2000.In most LA HS s there are not enough bathrooms to serve the students’ most basic needs, they often don’t have enough desks and the food these children are expected to eat is appAlling. Yet the administrative staff and out of classroom cronies multiply. While teachers are laid of not any administratie offices or the school police force were asked to make similar sacrifices. It’s always kids and their hardworking teachers who pay the price. I am voting for this Senator Murray

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Senator introduces legislation to limit class size | eSchool News

October 10, 2011 at 6:56 am

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Senator introduces legislation to limit class size | Edhuru Annex

October 10, 2011 at 5:44 pm

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