Leonie Haimson, Class Size MattersSept. 11, 2014

CLASS SIZE, OVERCROWDING AND NEED FOR NEW SEATS IN DISTRICT 28

School Utilization Rates at critical levels• Schools have become more overcrowded over last six years. More than

480,000 students citywide are in extremely overcrowded buildings.

• Elementary schools avg. building utilization “target” rates at 97.4%; median at 102%. High schools are not far behind at 95.2%.

• D28 Elementary schools at 98% on AVERAGE – middle schools 94.5%, both above citywide average.

• Queens high school buildings have avg. utilization rate of 110.7%.

Data source: Blue Book target utilization rates 2012-2013

Average Utilization Rates in CSD 28 compared to City-Wide 2012-2013

D28 ES building utilization rate at 98%, above citywide average

*Calculated by dividing building enrollment by the target capacity

Source: 2012-2013 DOE Blue Book

7,295 HS Seats in Queens needed to reach 100% building utilization

Over-utilized ES and MS buildings in CSD 28 and Queens HS

• There are 25 elementary & middle school buildings in CSD 28 that are 100% utilization or higher.

• The seats need in these schools is over 1,600 students.

• There are 29 over-utilized Queens HS buildings with a seats need for more than 13,000 students.

25 CSD 28 ES and MS buildings are over-utilized

29 Queens High School Buildings are over-utilized

More than 30,000 seats currently needed just in districts that average over 100%

*These figures are the difference between capacity & enrollment in the organizational target # in 2012-2013 Blue Book

Source: 2012-2013 DOE Blue Book

Only 640 seats in capital plan for D28 despite enrollment projections of more than 3,000

~3,033 to 3,281 new students by 2021 according to enrollment projections but only 640 seats are being added.

Proposed capital plan vs. needs for seats• Proposed capital plan has (at most) 38,754 seats citywide – and this

if Cuomo’s “Smart School” bond act is approved. (806 more seats funded only for design)

• Plan admits real need of 49,245 (though doesn’t explain how this figure was derived).

• DOE’s consultants project enrollment increases of 60,000-70,000 students by 2021

• At least 30,000 seats needed to alleviate current overcrowding for just those districts that average above 100%.

• Conclusion: real need for seats at least 100,000.

Proposed capital plan vs. needs for seats part II• These figures do not capture overcrowding at neighborhood level,

including overcrowded schools in D28.

• Do not include many schools with K waiting lists,

• Do not include need to expand pre-K, reduce class size, restore cluster rooms, or provide space for charters as required in new state law.

• Does not capture need to replace all trailers with capacity of more than 10,890 seats. (Though DOE reports only 7,158 students attending class in TCUs, actual number is far higher & likely over 10,000. )

• DOE utilization figures underestimate actual overcrowding according to most experts and Chancellor, who has appointed a “Blue Book” taskforce to improve them.

• Revised utilization formula should be aligned to smaller classes, dedicated rooms for art, music, special education services, and more.

Number of students in CSD 28 trailers

• In 2012-2013 according to DOE, there were at least 241 D28 elementary and middle school students in trailers.

• There were 23 TCUs at eight schools: PS 30*, PS 40*, PS 55, PS 121, PS 140*, PS 160, PS 174*, PS 206.

• Schools with an asterix are listed as underutilized in current Blue Book.

Unmet need critical in Queens high schools• More than 7,200 seats in Queens HS are needed to reduce

current overcrowding and bring building utilization to 100%.

• These figures underestimate actual level of overcrowding, according to most principals.

• About 2,000 seats are needed to remove Queens high school students from schools with trailers .

• DOE consultants project an increase in Queens high school enrollment of 12,567- 12,980 by 2021.

• Yet only 2,802 Queens HS seats proposed in five-year plan, a shortage of more than 17,000 seats.

Number of students in Queens HS trailers• At the high school level, there are at least 38 TCUs at

eight Queens high schools: John Adams, Bayside, Cardozo, Richmond Hill, William Bryant, John Bowne, Francis Lewis, and Jamaica Learning Center.

• All but John Adams HS did not have enrollment figures listed in the report and are not counted in DOE stats on students attending class in trailers.

• There are 68 classrooms in these 38 TCUs and the total capacity is 1,984 across the 8 HS. None of these students are included in the 7,158 total that DOE reports attend classes in TCUs.

2014 Kindergarten Wait Lists in CSD 28• According to DOE, the wait list for zoned Kindergarten spots in 2014 is smaller

citywide than in 2013, with 1,242 zoned students on wait lists as of April 21, 2014.

• 19 of 32 school districts currently had at least one school with a waiting list.

• 63 schools have zoned wait lists: 20 in Brooklyn, 17 in Queens, 11 in Manhattan, 11 in The Bronx, and 4 in Staten Island.

• DOE was less transparent than ever: the number of zoned students for particular schools if less than 10 is not revealed – and methodology for creating wait lists unexplained.

• Over 7,000 families got none of their choices and unclear how many were put on wait list for their zoned school.

• There was only one school in District 28 with waiting lists: PS 175 --The Lynn Gross Discovery School (1-9 students).

New seats need for CSD 28• To bring building utilization to 100% at every D28 elementary

and middle school, 1,680 seats would be needed.

• If the DOE’s enrollment projections are accurate, at least 3,000 seats will be needed to meet growing enrollment to 2021.

• To remove elementary and middle school students from trailers, another 241 seats would be needed.

• Capital Plan FY 2015-2019 allocates just 640 seats for f CSD 28.

• Probably at least 4,900 seats more are needed.

Blue book data underestimates actual level of overcrowding

• Class sizes in grades 4-12 in Blue Book formula far above goals in city’s C4E plan & larger than current averages --would force class sizes upwards

• Doesn’t require full complement of cluster rooms or dedicated spaces for special needs students to receive mandated services

• Doesn’t account for co-locations which subtract about 10% of total space and eat up classrooms with administrative & cluster rooms. Small schools use space less efficiently

• Instructional footprint shrinks full size classroom to only 500 sq. feet min., risking building code/safety violations at many schools as 20-35 sq feet per student required.

• Special ed classrooms defined as only 240-499 sq ft, thought State Ed guidelines call for 75 sq ft per child with special needs; classrooms this small would allow only 3- 7 students.

Class sizes have increased for last 6 years

• Despite provisions in 2007 state law requiring NYC reduce class sizes, classes in K-3 in 2013-2014 largest since 1998; in grades 4-8 largest since 2002.

• K-3 average class size was 24.9 (Gen Ed, inclusion & gifted classes) compared to 20.9 in 2007, increase of 19%.

• In grades 4-8, the average class size was 26.8, compared to 25.1 in 2007 –increase of 6.8%.

• HS “core” academic classes, class size average 26.7, up slightly since 2007.  (Yet DOE’s measure of HS class sizes is inaccurate and their methodology changes, so estimates cannot be relied upon.)

• Averages do NOT tell the whole story – as more than 330,000 students were in classes of 30 or larger in 2013-2014.

• There were 40,268 kids in K-3 in classes of 30 or larger in 2013-2014 – an increase of nearly 14% compared to the year before. 

• The number of teachers decreased by over 5000 between 2007-2010, according to the Mayor’s Management Report, despite rising enrollment.

Class sizes in CSD 28 have increased in grades K-3 by 21.4% since 2006, far above Contracts for Excellence goals

Data sources: DOE Class Size Reports 2006-2013, 2008 DOE Contracts for Excellence Approved Plan

CSD 28’s class sizes in grades 4-8 have increased by 12.6% since 2007 far above Contracts for Excellence goals

Data sources: DOE Class Size Reports 2006-2013, 2008 DOE Contracts for Excellence Approved Plan

Class sizes city-wide have increased in core HS classes as well, by 2.3% since 2007, though the DOE data is

unreliable*

*DOE’s class size data is unreliable & their methodology for calculating HS averages have changed year to year

Data sources: DOE Class Size Reports 2006-2013, 2008 DOE Contracts for Excellence Approved Plan

CSD 28 Schools with large class sizes

• At the Kindergarten level, there were 12 schools in District 28 with average class size of 25 or more, in Nov. 2013.

• In grades 1-3, 13 schools with at least one grade level averaging 30 students per class or more.

• PS 86, PS 144, PS 175, and PS 354 had at least three grade levels in K-3 with 30 or more students.

• In grades 4-8, 24 schools had at least one grade level with an average class size of 30 or more.

• JHS 157 and York Early College Academy had at least three grade levels with 30 or more students.

D28 schools with large K-3 class sizes 2013-14

Comparison of class sizes in Blue book compared to current averages & Contract for excellence goals

Grade levelsUFT Contract

class size limits

Target class sizes in "blue

book"

Current average class sizes

C4E class Size goals

How many sq ft per student required in classrooms

according to NYC building code

Kindergarten 25 20 23 19.9 35

1st-3rd 32 20 25.5 19.9 20

4th-5th 32 28 26 22.9 20

6th-8th 30 (Title I)

33 (non-Title I)28 27.4 22.9 20

HS (core classes)

34 30 26.7* 24.5 20

*DOE reported HS class sizes unreliable

Some Recommendations• 38,000 seats in capital plan is too low, esp. given existing overcrowding, projected

enrollment, preK expansion, class size reduction, new mandates to provide charter schools with space

• Also very low as compared to Mayor’s plan to create or preserve 200,000 affordable housing units.

• Council should expand the seats in five year capital plan to at least 50,000 – DOE admitted need.

• Commission an independent analysis by City Comptroller, IBO or other agency.

• Adopt reforms to planning process so that schools are built along with housing in future through mandatory inclusionary zoning, impact fees etc.

• Over half of all states and 60% of large cities have impact fees, requiring developers to pay for costs of infrastructure improvements, including schools.

• Require DOE to put together a REAL class size reduction plan.