Earlier this week, Lynn public school educators and staff spoke out against the large class sizes plaguing the city's schools, a situation that Lynn Teachers Union president Sheila O'Neil said should "the last resort." Of note, those in attendance consistently commented on how these class sizes are specifically impacting students with early or limited English proficiency.
As of this school year, the Lynn Public School District's population is 64.2% those whose first language is not English and 36.3% limited English proficiency. Across the district, the percent of students in these categories is largely consistent at the middle and high school levels. Lynn English does have the highest percentage of English language learners among these schools.
Among the consequences of large or overcrowded classrooms are higher dropout rates. Breed teacher Sabrina Markham alluded to this in her school committee testimony on Monday saying that research indicates that students in smaller classes perform better academically in all areas. Markham also said that students in smaller classes "participate more and are more likely to interact with peers and teachers."
Dropouts in Massachusetts are defined as students who leave school during the academic year and do not return by the following October 1st. The dropout rate for English language learners for 2020-21 was 9% for the district as a whole. In other words, 9% of ELL students in Lynn left school during the 2020-21 academic year and had not returned by October 1, 2021.
Dropout rates at the grade level varied by year and school; for example, Lynn Classical had a 16% dropout for 11th grade English language learners students last year while Lynn Tech had a 3.8% dropout rate for the same grade level and population.
Given the significant population of English learner students in Lynn, it is fair to say that large or overcrowded classrooms disproportionately impact these students.
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Data: doe.mass.edu
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