Why Class Sizes in Ontario are Simply Too Large

Imagine that you wanted to be sure to spend just 15 minutes connecting with every student in your class.  If you had an average elementary class size of 25 students this would require 6.25 hours – more time than the Elementary Teacher’s Federation of Ontario allows a teacher to spend in front of students in a day.  Factor in recess and lunch breaks and you can see that this is impossible.

While some people would see this as an exaggerated example and ask ‘what child needs 15 minutes every day?’ we see this as necessary if schools are to become truly student centered.  We know from our own experience that when faced with class sizes of 20, 22, or 25 students we simply cannot reach every student at an optimal level.

Put another way – imagine a staff meeting at your workplace with 24 co-workers.  Do you feel like your voice will be heard?

Headwaters Academy proudly maintains a teacher to student ratio that never exceeds 1:10 and is most often at 1:8.  With these ratios we are able to reach every child every day.