The kids remain little, however, the classroom sizes are getting much bigger in the elementary schools. The Principal at Plain City Elementary, Kelly Hicks, tells The Pioneer Press, “Every single classroom and office in the building is in use. We held dental exams and pictures on the stage due to lack of space.” Fourth grade is the  largest class in the building at 140 students.

    Second grade teacher from Plain City Elementary, Heather Widner, says, “A larger class is more difficult to teach.” Many staff members and students can agree with that statement.

    With having a larger number of students in one classroom, it takes away that one-on-one opportunity for a teacher and a student. Widner agrees by saying, “It takes away from the amount of small group and one-on-one to work with each student.” At a young age it takes a lot more to get students to learn, teachers need all the one-on-one time they can get.

   However, Jonathan Alder has recognized these increasing class sizes, and they aren’t letting it go unnoticed. Widner tells us, “Alder is working towards reducing class sizes by adding teachers where possible in order to best meet the needs of the student population.” They have also added a section for second grade to help keep each second grade class to a minimum of 24 students.

    It’s only a matter of time before this issue spreads throughout the whole district. All of Jonathan Alder buildings are fairly new or have recently been redone. However, when the classes currently in the elementary schools reach the junior high, the issues will begin all over again.