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Friday, September 2, 2005
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Pequot hires teachers to reduce class sizes
Staff Writer PEQUOT LAKES -- Pequot Lakes first- and sixth-graders will have a little more elbow room this fall.
The Pequot Lakes School Board in a special meeting Thursday voted to hire a full-time first-grade teacher and a full-time sixth-grade teacher to reduce large classroom sizes in those grades.
In a meeting last week, board members decided to wait until after school starts Sept. 6 to determine whether they would hire an additional first-grade teacher at Eagleview Elementary School. A request for another teacher was made by the first-grade staff, who felt 26 first-graders in each classroom was too many.
Since last Monday, the school finance committee met and decided to recommend the hiring of a first-grade teacher as well as a sixth-grade teacher at the middle school. Sixth-grade classrooms were averaging 30 students per classroom, said middle level principal Randy Hansen.
Board chair Mike Clausen said people have asked him why the decision to hire additional teachers wasn't made sooner. Superintendent Percy Lingen replied that the district had projected a 2 percent growth. If the enrollment numbers the district has now remain the same when school starts Tuesday, the district will have experienced a 7 percent growth over the summer, an increase of 74 students.
"We couldn't have predicted this in May," said Lingen.
Now when students return to school Tuesday, first-grade class sizes will average about 20-21 students per class and sixth-grade will have about 24-25 students per class.
Lingen said Melanie Shamp, a second-grade teacher who retired in June, has agreed to teach the new first-grade class on a temporary basis until another teacher is hired. Sarah Brinks, who has served as a substitute teacher in the district, will temporarily teach sixth grade. The hiring process for permanent teachers will take about two weeks, Lingen said.
JODIE TWEED can be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.
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