SD Student-Teacher Ratio (San Diego, Escondido: 2009, school districts, babysitter)

[texaslamar]

I was talking with a young lady tonight who just moved here, to Austin, from LA. Her sister is a teacher in SD. When I expressed how I've always wanted to move there, she warned me not to do it and stated that in San Diego the student-teacher ratio is now at 45 to 1. I know there have been a lot of teacher lay-offs in SD, but is this ratio accurate?

[Sassberto]

Originally Posted by texaslamar

I was talking with a young lady tonight who just moved here, to Austin, from LA. Her sister is a teacher in SD. When I expressed how I've always wanted to move there, she warned me not to do it and stated that in San Diego the student-teacher ratio is now at 45 to 1. I know there have been a lot of teacher lay-offs in SD, but is this ratio accurate?

News Release - Cuts Balance Budget at San Diego Unified :: San Diego Unified School District

"Ratio in grades 6-8 will be one teacher per 29.73 students, reducing by 23 teachers the number required for these grades."

"Increases class sizes to ratio of one teacher for every 30.13 students at high schools, reducing by 40 teachers the number required for these grades."

[texaslamar]

Thanks for that information, Sassberto. In Texas, the ratio is 22:1, but there are loopholes here to get around that law. I am a middle school teacher and I've had classes as large as 35. It's just so difficult to get any real teaching done with class sizes that large, even in the best of circumstances.

Hopefully, CA school districts adhere to the laws better than TX schools.

[moved]

Don't even think about getting a teaching job in San Diego. SDUSD just keeps cutting and cutting. Teachers will be getting pink slips, and classes will be getting larger. Next year, they plan to cut all elementary attendance and enrollment clerks to five hours per day. That means that the teachers will be doing more work, because they won't be able to send the students to the office to be signed out - they'll be doing it themselves.

Even substitute work is harder to get now - certificated and classified. I still have friends in the District, and that's what I've been told. One of them is hoping that they offer another "Golden Handshake", so she can retire early.

[texaslamar]

Yes, I've already been advised of this, but I am looking for a career change anyway.

[eastcoastbias]

My wife teaches in Escondido school system she has 33, last year she had 31. On average its in the low 30s there- one teacher had 37 at one point. You combine that with the fact that many of the students are 2 or 3 grade levels below where they should be its a disasterous scenario.

[texaslamar]

[quote=eastcoastbias;11413320]My wife teaches in Escondido school system she has 33, last year she had 31. On average its in the low 30s there- one teacher had 37 at one point. You combine that with the fact that many of the students are 2 or 3 grade levels below where they should be its a disasterous scenario.[

Yikes! Yes, I asked this question mainly because I have two young children. One in grade school and the other almost there. Last year, my kindergartener had 23 in her class and despite the fact that she attends a "good" school and had an amazing, nationally board certified teacher, the class was still too large.

[eastcoastbias]

My opinion- although limited because i'm not a teacher and didn't grow up in SD- the schools here have it all wrong. The focus here is all about state test scores and you have alot of schools in San diego County that are doomed to fail from the start. Its a good place to start (test scores) if your dealing with kids that are basically coming from the same background- but its hardly the case here. There are an alarming amount of kids that can't read the test let alone grasp the topics at hand.

I'm very interested in the topic of education. My father is a teacher in Ohio 27 odd years Head union rep, My best Friend teacher, my wife is also a teacher. I hear the stories, I read the legislation passed in various states, no child left behind, I've campaigned to pass school issues for funding in districts, etc. My wife has stated for years its more about the paperwork here, looking for jobs because you get pinkslipped and covering your own butt rather than actually teaching. She feels like she went to school got a masters and now she's a babysitter that is micromanaged, she has kids that come and go throughout the year and class size that you can't manage 100% of the time. Quite simply, our kids will not be attending school in San Diego County.

[Sassberto]

Originally Posted by eastcoastbias

Quite simply, our kids will not be attending school in San Diego County.

My wife is a teacher in San Diego unified and my mother is about to retire from a 30-year career as a teacher. Education is very important to us. We share the sentiment that our children will most likely not be attending school in San Diego, unless you are in a school where socioeconomic background is homogenously high (and expect it to remain that way indefinitely).

[moved]

As a former employee of SDUSD, I would recommend sending your kids to private school if you can afford it.