Class Sizes Level Off, Except Kindergarten : Education: Six-year growth trend in county is broken. But average class size of kindergarten is 29.5 is students, the highest ever.

Kindergarten classes in Orange County are more crowded this year than ever, but average class sizes in other elementary and junior high grades have leveled off, according to statistics released Tuesday by the Orange County Department of Education.

Continuing a steady trend of growth over the past six years, kindergarten classes in all but a handful of local districts are larger than classes for older students this year, the new figures show. The county average for kindergarten is 29.5 students per class, up from 29 last year. The average class size in first through third grade is 28.9 students, and in fourth through eighth grade the average is 28.4, repeating last year’s numbers exactly.

This is the first year since 1989-90 that averages for all grades have not grown.

“I’m pleased that it didn’t go up more. It’s gratifying that we’re not over 40--though there are classes out there that are that large,” Department of Education Supt. John Dean said. “If we can keep the averages where they are, and not let them get any higher, we’ll be making some real progress.”

The data is based on averages from the first seven months of the 1993-94 school year. The county does not track class sizes in ninth through 12th grade.

Increasing class sizes reflect both Orange County’s growing school-age population and budget cuts that have forced districts to increase their student-teacher ratios.

“That’s really the only move (administrators) can make,” Dean said. “You don’t save much money by cutting out paper clips. The number of children in a class makes all the difference in the world. That’s the only flexibility you have; they’ve cut everything else.”

Santa Ana Unified’s kindergartens are the most crowded in the county, with an average of 32.4 students, and the district also has the largest classes in first through third grade, with an average of 31.6 students. In fourth through eighth grade, Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified has the most students per class, with an average of 31.6.

Laguna Beach Unified has the smallest classes at all three grade levels, averaging 27 students per kindergarten, 26.4 in first through third grade and 23.1 in fourth through eighth.

At all three grade levels, Westminster City School District saw the most growth in class size, Newport-Mesa Unified had the most significant drops in kindergarten and primary grades, and Savanna School District, which includes parts of Anaheim and Buena Park, saw the largest reduction in the upper elementary grades.

At the kindergarten level, 17 districts saw class sizes rise, with the biggest jump coming in Westminster, where the average grew from 27.5 students in 1992-93 to 30.8 students this year.

Six districts have smaller kindergarten classes this year than they did in 1992-93, with the most significant reduction in Newport-Mesa Unified, where the average fell from 31.1 students last year to 29.3 now.

“We’ve just made it a real priority,” said Newport-Mesa Supt. Mac Bernd. The Newport-Mesa board allocated money to reduce class size last summer, and Bernd kept a close watch, monitoring class size with weekly reports in the opening months of school.

“The smaller the class, the more attention the teacher can give to individual students,” Bernd said. “We can’t get them as small as we’d like, but anything we can do in that direction we think helps teaching and learning.”

Although county averages for first through eighth grade remained steady from last year to this year, several districts saw significant growth in those grades. The largest increases came in Westminster, where first through third grade class sizes rose from 28.8 to 29.4 and fourth through eighth jumped from 25.2 students to 29.2.

Westminster City School District spokeswoman Audrey Brown attributed the district’s major increases to a $1.6-million cut in a $26-million budget, and noted that the growth in class size was outlined in the new teacher contract that took effect last fall.

“We went for many years as one of the (few) districts in the county that had small class sizes--last year it just dawned on us that we couldn’t go on,” Brown said. “If we had more money from the state, (class size definitely would be) something we would change, but it has a real financial impact.”

Some districts have introduced programs to compensate for the ever-increasing class sizes. In Capistrano Unified kindergartens, for example, each teacher spends 90 minutes a day team teaching in another classroom, so students get more individual attention for academic exercises. Visiting parents also help, particularly in younger grades where the lessons are simplest.

“One thing about kindergarten that makes it so easy is, we do get a lot of volunteers,” said Kathy Kirtz, who has 31 children in her class at George White Elementary in Laguna Niguel. “I can’t say that it’s been real difficult for me at all. The teaming makes for an ideal situation and the parent volunteers are so wonderful and come in and help out.”

Crowded Classrooms

Kindergarten class sizes in Orange County averaged an all-time high this year: 29.5. Several districts averaged more than 30 students per room. The average countywide leveled off in the first through eighth grades, though many districts had increases. Average class sizes, based on information for the first seven months of 1993-94 school year:

Grades Grades Districts Kindergarten 1-3 4-6/8* ELEMENTARY DISTRICTS Anaheim City 29.6 27.5 28.6 Buena Park 29.8 29.2 27.6 Centralia 29.0 29.4 29.2 Cypress 28.3 26.4 27.4 Fountain Valley 29.9 29.7 29.1 Fullerton 28.7 28.7 27.4 Huntington Beach 31.0 29.3 29.8 La Habra 30.1 28.5 26.5 Magnolia 28.7 28.0 30.7 Ocean View 29.9 29.4 28.1 Savanna 28.8 29.4 27.2 Westminster 30.8 29.4 29.2 UNIFIED DISTRICTS Brea-Olinda 28.7 28.8 29.7 Capistrano 29.3 29.1 27.5 Garden Grove 30.9 29.9 28.1 Irvine 28.7 28.3 28.5 Laguna Beach 27.0 26.4 23.1 Los Alamitos 29.8 29.2 28.8 Newport-Mesa 29.3 29.2 28.9 Orange 29.8 29.5 29.9 Placentia-Yorba Linda 29.5 29.5 31.6 Saddleback Valley 28.1 28.2 27.8 Santa Ana 32.4 31.6 26.9 Tustin 30.9 29.0 28.9 Countywide average 29.5 28.9 28.4

*Anaheim City, Centralia, Cypress, Magnolia and Savanna district sizes are grades 4-6; all others 4-8.

Source: Orange County Department of Education