Westfield Parents Speak Out Over Class Sizes, Loss Of Program Space

WESTFIELD, NJ— At a Westfield Board of Education meeting earlier this week, Washington School parents used the public comment period to raise concerns about a series of proposed changes they say could reshape the elementary school experience, especially when it comes to class sizes, arts instruction, and how decisions are communicated to families.

Washington School is in the middle of several transitions, including a new principal stepping in, ongoing building construction, and the relocation of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) classrooms into the building. To help accommodate those shifts, district officials are also weighing changes that would consolidate fourth grade from four sections of 18 students into three sections of 24, along with replacing dedicated art and music classrooms with cart-based instruction.

AtTuesday night's BOE meeting, district officials also outlined some of the broader considerations behind those types of decisions, including enrollment patterns, classroom usage across schools, and how programs such as special education and gifted instruction are distributed between buildings. Officials also pointed to staffing needs, budget constraints, and efforts to maintain what they described as “reasonable parity” across classrooms districtwide.

During public comment, parents focused most heavily on the potential impact of larger fourth grade class sizes.

Parent Victoria Beyer said the change would significantly affect classroom learning.

“A 33 percent increase in the number of children competing for teachers’ time, attention, feedback, and support is not small,” Beyer said.

Lauren Lewin, another Washington School parent, broke down what she said the shift would mean in terms of individual attention.

“With 300 instructional minutes a day, an 18-student classroom allows for about 16.5 minutes of individual attention per child,” Lewin said. “At 24 students, it drops 30 percent to 12 minutes a day.”

Lewin added that over two school years, she believes the change would add up to a significant reduction in student-teacher interaction time.

Some parents also questioned the reasoning behind the restructuring, saying they were told the changes were tied to “intra-district equity” aimed at balancing enrollment pressures across schools.

Parent Jason Byer said that explanation raised concerns.

“The concept of equity should not be used as a way to bring Washington’s environment down,” Byer said.

Another major concern centered on the possible elimination of dedicated art and music classrooms, which could be replaced by cart-based instruction.

Parent Alina Schaller said she believes that shift would change the experience for students who benefit from structured creative spaces.

“Adaptation should not be confused with equivalency,” Schaller said. “The fact that a program can function under those circumstances does not mean it provides the same educational experience.”

Stephanie Cooper, a design director and artist, echoed that point, focusing on what physical learning spaces represent.

“When something has a dedicated space, it makes a statement, it says this matters,” Cooper said. “An art cart can deliver supplies, but it certainly cannot replicate what a dedicated space represents.”

Parents also raised concerns about transparency, saying they felt left out of the process as decisions were being developed.

Beyer said families should be brought into the conversation earlier.

“Transparency is not simply about sharing a final decision, it’s about engaging stakeholders in the discussion before decisions are finalized,” Beyer said.

Harrison Wolf called for greater access to information, including committee meeting minutes, so families could better understand how decisions were reached.

Ellie Salcedo encouraged the board to view parents as partners in the process.

“Engage us. We are part of the solution,” Salcedo said. “Diverse thoughts create better decisions.”

Throughout the meeting, parents said they support welcoming new programs and students into Washington School, but remain concerned about how the changes will affect classroom experience, arts instruction, and communication with families.

They urged the district to preserve smaller class sizes where possible, maintain dedicated arts and music spaces, and improve transparency as planning continues.