‘Leveling’ done, maximum class sizes in effect

Leveling, our annual process for adjusting staffing levels and reassigning teachers after student enrollment stabilizes, has been completed for the 2012-13 school year.

Every summer, APS assigns staff to schools based on projections of student enrollment. Leveling is necessary because by the time the new school year begins, projected enrollment may differ from actual enrollment for several reasons. One reason is that a large number of students register and actually begin school after the first day of school. Approximately 10,000 students began school between August 7 or Day One and September 7 or Day 24, which is our designated cutoff day for leveling this school year. As part of the leveling process, we have made staffing adjustments that reflect not only student enrollment, but also our careful consideration of the academic and programmatic needs of students and schools.

Now that leveling has been completed, class sizes across APS will be no higher than board- and state-approved maximums. Note that the official state-required count of student enrollment (i.e., FTE count) takes place on the first Tuesday in October (October 2, 2012), after which minor adjustments may be required to ensure that classes do not exceed the approved maximum sizes:

2012-13 APS class-size maximums (unchanged from last year):

• Kindergarten: 25 students
• Grades 1–3: 26 students
• Grades 4–8: 33 students
• Grades 9–12: 35 students in the core classes