GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The first day of kindergarten is an exciting and emotional day for parents and their new scholars. Some parents dropping off at Kent Hills Elementary on Monday, however, left drop-off feeling uneasy and nervous about how many classmates their children had.
Jacqueline Geyer said that when she went to her son's kindergarten orientation she took a look at his class list and saw her son's class had a total of 55 kindergarteners for just one teacher.
After 13 ON YOUR SIDE spoke with Geyer, we also reached out to GRPS, who disputed Geyer's claim. They said that on the first day of school, the two kindergarten classes did not have 55 children each and instead had just 33 per class.
However, Geyer said that when she dropped her son off for his first day, the scene in front of her was "like a storm."
"There were toddlers crying and just teachers everywhere," Geyer said. "Like [the teacher] was overwhelmed, visibly, you could just see on her face. And she kept saying, like, 'we need help.'"
Now, Kent Hills Elementary has added a third kindergarten class, saying the Kent Hills Elementary School family "continues to grow."
"During this first week of school, both kindergarten classrooms have welcomed between 30 and 35 scholars each," read a statement from GRPS. "GRPS is taking swift action to ensure that every scholar receives the attention and resources they deserve. We are pleased to announce that we will be adding a third kindergarten classroom starting Thursday, August 22."
In the meantime, Matthew Beresford, executive director of northeast quadrant schools said that the two kindergarten teachers who have been working have received assistance from two additional teachers.
The teacher of the additional third class will be a recent Grand Valley State University graduate, Ms. Raredon.
“I look forward to joining Kent Hills," Ms. Raredon said. "I am passionate about building a sense of community, safety, and belonging in every classroom I step into. I choose to be an educator because I want to help students achieve small victories every day.”