at CHS

course selection concerns at CHS

Exploring reports of reduced class sections, larger class sizes and schedule changes

INVESTIGATIONS | 21

AFFECTED TEACHERS

The perspective of teachers with larger classes than usual

ALEXANDER LIU

writer

Overpopulation — when too many students are in a class — may explain why a platoon of students fail to get the classes they want every year. Teachers at Cupertino High school also experience changes in their classes due to fluctuating population. Some are mild while others are more drastic, but there is a distinction between milder shifts and true overpopulation.

“The term ‘overpopulated’ is kind of challenging,” Carley Stavis, a Voices of Modern Culture (VMC) teacher at Cupertino High, said. “I mean, ‘overpopulated’ by what measure? [...] It won’t be overpopulated by some sort of legal definition.”

As the current head of the CHS teachers’ union, Stavis and other teachers negotiate contracts with the district administrators, those responsible for schedule-making and arranging students into classes. The contract clauses include maximum sections — a single course period — allowed per teacher and a maximum number of student-teacher contacts. At the start of each school year, the guidance team and administration assign teachers to certain sections of a course.

Stavis explained that student enrollment statistics received before the school year dictates the assignment process. Said Stavis, “As teachers, we have no say in how many sections [will] be in each class because that’s really determined by what students are requesting to take.” However, teachers can adjust students between classes, and if necessary, ask the administrators to create new sections to accommodate an overflow of students.

However, the number of students in a class can exceed the number agreed by contract. As a result, teachers take the initiative of removing students from the class. James Gilmore, a Physical Education 9 teacher, manages about 40

“...WE HAVE PRETTY MUCH NO SAY IN HOW MANY SECTIONS [WILL] BE IN EACH CLASS BECAUSE THAT’S REALLY DETERMINED BY WHAT STUDENTS ARE REQUESTING TO TAKE.” CARLEY STAVIS

students per class, a larger class size than most teachers. PE 9 is a mandatory course for incoming ninth grade students, and sometimes the class exceeds the 40-students-perclass capacity. Said Gilmore, “It does become a big safety concern when you’re in the pool […] swimming can be chaotic [...]At one point [the number of students in a class] got up to 48, and I was concerned.” He contacted administration, and student changes were made the next day. Amber Steele, a first-year Art teacher at CHS, is currently teaching a class with 41 students that combines Art 3, Art 4 and AP Art. Steele has had to turn away at least five students from the class because of the crowded classroom. Said Steele, “Pushing [students] to work on larger pieces becomes really hard when everyone is sitting next to two other people and there’s not enough space for everyone.” Steele recalls that it is hard for her to provide meaningful, detailed feedback to students, and hopes that in the future, the Art 3 course can be separated from Art 4 and AP Art to avoid crowding.

Zachary Jacobs, an American Literature Honors teacher and a former Teachers’ Union president, has a way of dealing with a larger class size. Said Jacobs, “With more students, I have the class arranged in groups so I can talk to multiple students at once.” Jacobs believes the best scenario is to have as few students in class as possible to more easily establish a one-on-one approach for teachers and students. “So it’s never been totally right.”

Jacobs is sympathetic towards students who are not able to take the classes they want and offers an alternative. Since FUHSD has agreements with De Anza and Foothill College, students can take a wide variety of classes there for high school credit. As a result, the district does not have to create new sections. Why? “Money. You have to pay a teacher, find space. There’s always a trade-off”

GUIDANCE TEAM

Students flood counselors’ offices and email inboxes for meetings and constant According to Nafrada, 338 sections were allocated to CHS for the 2022-2023 school year, signifirequests for schedule changes throughout the first few weeks of school, only to discover that their requested class is already full. However, Cupertino High School’s administration and guidance team say they are simply working within a scheduling system as required by the Fremont Union High School District policies.

Each year, students follow the course selection process of filing Informed K12 forms and choosing classes that fulfill both their graduation credits and areas of interest. The forms offer counselors and school administrators critical data that help them determine— among other things—how 32.5:1 many classes teacher to student ratio or sections of a course they should offer in a given semester. Students choose classes that fulfill their graduation credits and satisfy their areas of interest. After this is completed, the number of classes for a particular course is set, depending on how many students signed up for that course.

“There is a formula that is defined by the teachers’ contract that states how the class sizes are and then it calculates based on how many kids we are expected to have enrolled the following year. We get allocated a certain number of sections,” Melina Nafrada, assistant principal in charge of guidance at Cupertino High, said. cantly less than the 368 sections from the previous school year. The reduction of 30 sections from last year is due to a decrease in enrollment, contributing to more crowded classrooms this year. However, the decline in enrollment is not the only factor contributing to larger class sizes, Nafrada said. “This year is an anomaly, where we are significantly over [our] projection, meaning that the number of kids that were anticipated to be here in the spring was, we had far more kids,” said Nafrada. “We had new kids enroll and we had far fewer kids disenroll.” Advanced Placement (AP) math classes such as AP Calculus are chronically crowded, which Nafrada said is due to a historic trend of higher drop rates. The goal is for “all of our classes to be at the contractual ratio,” by day 40 of the semester, said Nafrada. The contractual ratio is the ratio of students to teachers for one class stated in the teacher’s contract; for most classes, the ratio is 32.5 students to one teacher. COVID-19 is another factor that may be affecting the class-size growth spurt at Tino. As companies in Silicon Valley summon the workforce out of their homes and back into company office buildings, many families are also moving, which also increases enrollUnderstanding the process behind course selection

HAILEY RYU

writer

ment. As enrollment increases, the space available in certain classes becomes limited. When more sections are added, there has to be an adequate and available space to conduct the class as well as a qualified teacher, creating conflict for the guidance team. Students also play a role in schedule changes being unsuccessful. Many students request to drop classes when school starts because they have not completed summer commitments, whether it is finishing summer homework or completing a summer math class to accelerate to an advanced course.

With so many students requesting changes, the guidance team is trying to accommodate students’ needs, Nafrada said. If too many students want to take a class, seniors get top priority. Then, if there are still more students than spaces, it’s luck of the draw for underclassmen who requested the course.

Said Nafrada, “We actually use a randomizer app [...] that was the fairest [way] that we could think of and that’s what we tried for. I know it is hard for students because they do have to choose so early in the spring, but unfortunately, that’s the system that I have to operate under because I have to fulfill the obligations to the teachers’ union” INVESTIGATIONS | 23