Three weeks into the new school year and Mayor Bloomberg and his Chancellor are still committed to making class sizes too big.

According to the UFT, via Leonie Haimison of www.classsizematters.org, "as of Sept. 19, there were 6,456 oversized classes that violated the union class size limits. Of these, 4,737 of these classes were in high schools, meaning that these classes had 35 students or more. There were also an astonishing 1,719 oversized classes in elementary and middle schools. This total is significantly worse than last year, when there were 5,761 oversized classes at this point; 5,093 in high schools; and 668 in elementary and middle schools."

UPDATE: The UFT has filed a contract grievance challenging the over-sized classes. http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=62951 . It's important to remember that even contract-complying classes are still very large from the point of view of teaching children. Contract class sizes (via the UFT)18 in pre-kindergarten; 25 in kindergarten; 32 in Grades 1-6;30 in Title I middle schools; 33 in non-Title I middle schools; 34 in academic classes in high school; 50 in physical education classes in middle and high schools; 50 in music classes in high schools.

A few exceptions to the rule are laid out in the contract. Several programs funded by the City Council, the state and the federal government may also set class-size limits that are lower than those mandated in the contract. The City Council, for example, has set aside funding to limit class size in Grades 1-3 to 28 pupils

The fact is children learn much better in very small classes and have much less success in large classes (even those small enough to comply with the UFT-City Contract).

One teacher blogs "Is it the city? Is it the Chancellor? Who is ultimately to blame for this problem that occurs in nearly every city school? Why is there just not even space for our students? It’s an awful thing to say as a teacher, but for my own sanity and for the benefit of my students I almost hope that half my students don’t show. 34, 35, or 36, regardless of the exact number, it is way to absurd for any teacher, whether veteran or not, to be expected to educate all of these students at once." (Thanks, http://edwize.org)

New York's Court of Appeals will hear oral arguements in final appeal of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity litigation on Tuesday Oct. 10. If the lower court's order is fianlly enforced, money will begin to flow to NYC schools to, among other things, reduce class size. Parents accross the city and state will rally on Oct 9 and travel to Albany to help focus the high court's attention. If you want to attend or help either in NYC or Albany, reach out to NYC organizer April Humphrey of the Alliance for Quality Education http://www.aqeny.org/regional-information.php

One consequence of Elliot Spitzer's vast lead in the polls has been that he hasn't been pressed to committ to finding the money to equitably fund schools that have been systematically starved for years. While I hope and expect he'll win, if Mr. Spitzer were in an actually contested race, he might fell some pressure to address this issue more concretely.