Bemiss Sixth-Grader Takes On School Overcrowding Becca Cabe Launches Letter-Writing Drive To Reduce Students Per Class

Becca Cabe started sixth grade at Bemiss Elementary School this year in a comfortable class of 17. Life was good. For about a week.

Then, her class was split, her friends dispersed among the other sixth-grade classes. Cabe’s new room, she said, is packed.

“Now, it’s hard to focus,” said Cabe, 11. “You can’t ask the teacher questions because there’s so many students.”

Frustrated, Cabe decided to write letters to Bemiss’ principal, Spokane School District officials, the governor and state legislators.

Said her mother, Sharon: “This was all her idea. But we stand behind her. Something needs to be done.”

Cabe also started a petition - so far signed by about 100 students - regarding overcrowding in the school.

But though it may feel cramped, according to school and district officials, Bemiss is not overcrowded. Cabe’s class is exactly where it should be, according to district policy, at 28 students. And, enrollment is down to 612 students this year from 650 last year. Spokane School District elementary schools’ numbers range from a low of 255 students at Wilson to a high of 634 at Willard (as of Oct. 2).

“While class size is certainly a concern to educators, we know that teaching makes more of a difference than class size alone, evidenced by this year’s high math and reading (Washington Assessment of Student Learning) scores at Bemiss,” said Spokane School District spokeswoman Terren Roloff.

When school started though, some fourth- through sixth-grade classes at Bemiss had about 17 students each. The teachers’ contract calls for intermediate class sizes no larger than 28.

“When you have 16 kids in classes, you’re paying lots of salaries,” said Bemiss Principal Lorna Spear. “Maybe there’s a school somewhere else with classes of 30 kids where they need to make another class.”

In fact, there was. So Spear asked for a fifth-grade teacher to volunteer to transfer schools to help out with the extra students at another district school.

Bemiss, too, had extra students in third grade, and so a sixth-grade teacher was reassigned to that grade. That teacher’s students were then spread among the other sixth-grade classes.

“It happens every year,” Spear said. “It’s not something we want to have happen, but to be responsible we have to balance class sizes. It’s unfortunate that it happens, but we have excellent teachers, so (the students who move classes) know they’ll be in a good place.”

Spear also said she called all the parents of children affected by the shifting and that the move went smoothly.

When asked if her 28-person class feels crowded, Cabe’s current teacher Jennifer Hansen shrugged and said, “I’ve had more students.”

But still, Cabe wants change. She said she’d like to see the whole district policy on class sizes revamped.

Class size is a concern around the state and across the nation. Presidential candidates brought it up in recent debates, and Washington voters will have a chance to voice their opinions about it Nov. 7. Initiative 728 aims to boost funding for local school districts to use in reducing class size, extend after-school programs and expand teacher training.

Spear said she supports Cabe’s letter-writing campaign but worries that the reality of the situation may come as a shock.

“I believe this is an authentic writing experience for her, and having her take on something that’s real is a good thing,” Spear said. “I hope she gets some responses back and that she can begin to understand the complexity of funding issues. I think she’ll learn some things.”

Hansen also thinks Cabe will benefit from the experience “to learn how the system works to create change and learn the process of being heard.”

So far, Cabe’s letter-writing campaign has prompted one response from Sen. Patty Murray. Cabe said one of Murray’s aides called to say she was impressed with the way a sixth-grader could articulate her feelings and that Murray plans to visit her.

But until then, Cabe is trying to figure out things on her own.

“We need more portables and more teachers,” she said, but when asked about the money to pay for such extras, she said she hasn’t thought that far yet.

“Maybe we could turn to Bill Gates - he helps out with school things,” she said. “If we talk about the policy we can figure out a way to raise the funds.”