A Student-Teacher Ratio goal of 15 to 1 in Grades 2 and 3

The Tupelo Public School District presently maintains a student-teacher ratio goal of 15 to 1 in grades K and 1. It has been a commitment and goal of the TPSD since the 1990s and the adoption of the district's Strategic Plan in April, 2005 to extend the 15 to 1 ratio to grades 2 and 3 as well.

Advantages of extending the goal of a 15 to 1 student-teacher ratio to grades 2 and 3:

• More opportunity for individualized instruction
• More data-driven instructional opportunities
• Allows personalizing of instruction for each child
• Provides teachers with the opportunity to know each child more personally
• Results in improved student achievement
• Contributes to a lower dropout rate
• Fulfills a commitment/promise made by the TPSD in 1999 and in the Strategic Plan, 2005
• Encourages/permits use of more enrichment opportunities and learning centers
• Improves the teacher's ability to deal with classroom management, organization, use of space, instructional focus and delivery, etc.

No More Than Four Schools with the Same Grade Configuration

The TPSD presently operates one Pre-K school, seven K-3 schools, and three 4-6 schools. One of the goals of the Future Excellence Plan is to achieve a balance of +/- 7% between poverty and non-poverty students at each school. With the elementary student population now divided among essentially ten schools, this desired balance is extremely difficult to maintain.

Mr. Jeff Tsai, Director of Operations Research/Education Laboratory at North Carolina State University, advised the Facilities Utilization Advisory Team that it is much easier to maintain balance when there are fewer divisions in the total student population. Our recent experience with the three present 4-6 schools bears this out. Unlike the situation in the district's seven K-3 schools where it is very difficult to maintain the desired (+/- 7%) balance, none of the three TPSD 4-6 schools have ever been out of compliance with these desired limits.

Advantages of having no more than four schools with the same grade configuration:

• Results in greater stability in the school populations
• Improves the district's ability to create and to maintain schools that are demographically similar in terms of poverty and non-poverty students
• Reduces the number of potential in-district transfers
• Contributes to a lower dropout rate
• Allows for more consistent educational programming
• Student groups remain together throughout their elementary years... support groups are formed and maintained
• Provides room for growth and better utilization of facilities
• Makes maximum use of all present schools and their building capacities
• The enrollment at Milam Elementary School will be smaller

Stability in Student Population, K-6

Under the present grade configuration, students attending the same K-3 school may not necessarily attend the same 4-6 school. One of the goals of the TPSD Future Excellence Plan is to create attendance zones that are larger and properly paired between upper and lower elementary schools. As a result, the likelihood of students having to frequently change schools as they progress through their elementary school years will be greatly reduced.

Advantages of creating greater stability in the student population, K-6:

• Students share the same classmates for longer periods of time; students are not "split up" as they progress to the upper elementary schools
• Contributes to a lower dropout rate
• Reduces the likelihood of having to move large numbers of students from one school to another each year
• With larger attendance zones, students are not as susceptible to having to change schools because of "family or household moves" within the Tupelo Public School District
• Produces much more stable demographic groups within each school

All Schools Should Be Demographically Similar in Regard to the Number of Poverty and Non-Poverty Students

The TPSD clearly acknowledges the importance of maintaining demographic balance in our elementary schools and defines "balance between poverty and non-poverty students" to be +/- 7% of the district average in grades K-6. School districts that remain sensitive to the desirability of "schools being demographically similar" encourage and enjoy greater community support, more student diversity at individual schools, and increased unity among the patrons of the school district, etc. Overall, demographic balance enhances the learning environment and the social growth and development of the students in a school.

Advantages to schools being demographically similar:

• Each school more accurately reflects the composition of the community as a whole
• Diversity among the students manifests itself in a very healthy and positive manner
• Demographically-balanced schools enhance the overall learning environment and the social growth and development of the students
• Contributes to a lower dropout rate
• Improves the comfort level for students who move into the school district from other schools
• Creates a forum for open, honest communication and discussion

The Creation of "Clean Feeder Elementary Schools"

Clean, feeder schools are ones whose student populations are not, or do not have to be, split as they feed the grade configurations in upper elementary or middle schools. It is the intention of the TPSD to create clean feeder schools. As a result of the Future Excellence Plan, a student will know before he or she enters kindergarten which schools the student can expect to attend in all grades, K-12.

Advantages of "Clean Feeder Elementary Schools"

• The student populations of "clean feeder schools" are not, or do not have to be, split as they feed the configurations in upper elementary or middle schools
• Parents will know which district schools their children will attend in grades, K-12
• Contributes to a lower dropout rate
• Transitional activities between schools can be strengthened
• Permits closer vertical cooperation and articulation between lower and upper elementary schools
• The transition of groups of elementary students into larger groups will be made more gradual prior to reaching the middle school