Parents flood school board meeting to demand solutions to overcrowded classrooms

On Tuesday evening, Dec. 10, 2024, parents, caregivers, and teachers packed the Davis Center board room and the overflow space to voice concern over ballooning class sizes and shrinking numbers of support staff to the Minneapolis School Board. Public comments were offered by representatives from Dowling, Bryn Mawr, Lucy Lainey, Kenwood, Cityview, and Hiawatha surrounded by supporters from Nokomis, Whittier, and others.
MPS cut $7 million from school budgets district wide for the ‘24-25 school year by raising the class cap sizes, forcing principals and site councils to scramble on how to provide the resources their students need. At Dowling Elementary, 60% of classrooms are at the cap or over the cap listed in the Minneapolis Teacher Union contract, up from 16% last year. The south Minneapolis Elementary has grown by 80 students over last year’s enrollment, but district budget allocations cut staff by eight positions. The result is a school environment that is not safe nor conducive to learning.
The Dowling community held a listening session in late November. Some of the impacts heard include:
- Teachers cannot provide the individual academic supports to students or the communication to families that is needed to be successful, instruction is suffering
- Students with IEPs or 504s, and multilingual students are not having their needs met
- Basic safety is becoming a concern around the lunchroom, tracking on campus, and increased injuries at recess
Bryn Mawr Elementary has also had 80 more students enrolled than projected. In late October, several of the classes were eight or nine students over the contractual cap, making some classrooms larger than 35 children. The district has only provided one additional teacher and one associate educator, and Bryn Mawr has had to create an additional teacher position by overextending special education and interventionist staff. About 65 percent of Bryn Mawr classrooms are still over the cap, compared to around 25 percent of classrooms district-wide (as of October).
This represents a serious equity problem. Bryn Mawr is a Title 1 school with nearly 90 percent of students eligible for free and reduced lunches and a higher-than-district-average percent of students with special education needs. These are some of the most vulnerable students in the district, with some of the highest needs. The district expects these students to catch up on test scores and skill proficiency. Overcrowded classrooms are an impediment to these students, creating environments where teachers cannot easily differentiate by skill level and language, meet IEP needs, and manage the behaviors of stressed-out, over-stimulated children. These kids need stable learning environments where they can receive attention from their teachers.
That is impossible when the district annually underestimates enrollment, lays off experienced staff that knows these students, and then must scramble to add staff halfway through the semester.
After over an hour of comments the message was clear. The current situation is unsustainable for students and teachers alike. Families are asking MPS to adequately staff all schools in the district giving students a safe and equitable learning experience. Multiple parent groups asked for an immediate audience with Superintendent Dr. Sayles-Adams and school board representatives to demand solutions.