Imagine you’re sitting in a classroom just trying to learn. One other student starts talking with their friends. Now, there are 25 other students who are talking and off track. You’re overwhelmed and stressed just trying to listen to your teacher. This is the reality for our students in our elementary schools. Looking throughout The Stevens Point Area School District we can see how many classes and schools have too many students. Reviewing the district numbers provided by the Superintendent Dr. Cory Hirsbrunner, we can see that only one elementary school in the district has a school size under 75% of the max capacity. Max capacity in the schools is the number of people that can be in the school for it to function safely and effectively. The goal set by the district is to keep the capacity under 90% of full capacity. Focusing on one elementary school, Bannach, the school is already over the goal capacity of 90% or under. Currently, Bannach is sitting at 92% capacity. Meaning that according to the district, it is overfilled. At the moment, Bannach has a student count of 364 when the max number the school can have is 396 which in turn means that Bannach is only 32 students away from being unable to run safely and effectively. 

A report from Walden University states, “Naturally, the more students there are, the noisier it gets—even in classrooms that are effectively managed. The increased noise level can make it harder for kids to concentrate, affecting learning outcomes, and more difficult for teachers to focus, leading to more stress and possible burnout”  (Meador). When talking with a group of fifth graders from Bannach, I was given a lot of insight from them and their experiences. They mentioned time and time again that they would get stressed and overwhelmed by all of the people around the school all the time and having to fit in one school. They felt it impacted their ability to stay focused and on topic when there were so many distractions. The students did feel that their teacher tried her best to make things as easy for them as possible but it can still be hard when there are so many other students needing help. 

This is not only a local issue but also a nationwide issue. Dr. Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union said “that the number of children in classes of 31 plus had risen by a quarter of a million in the last decade” (Education Journal). This proves that throughout the country and the world, our schools are not able to handle the number of students who are coming in looking for a good education. Having classes this large causes the issues students getting overwhelmed, stressed, and the struggle to stay focused throughout their day. Dr. Bousted also states “schools had already been experiencing teacher shortages.” This is causing the issue of overcrowding in the classroom because there are not enough people coming into the education field. Dr. Hirsbrunner mentioned that it is hard to pull people into the education field because educators have to work all school year and there is not enough funding to have the pay draw them in. With also having large classes it can be quite stressful for the teachers to keep up and build a relationship with each student and make them feel seen. Mrs. Hirsbrunner said that having a teacher who connects and makes it a high priority to make every student feel seen is the most important part of a student’s education. The connection between a student and teacher helps make that student a stronger person and better in the classroom. 

In my interview with Mrs. Hirsbrunner, she says, “I have never seen so many demands on teachers and staff in school buildings. It is a tough tough gig.” When talking with others I know that are going into education and are in college for teaching they say that it is going to be hard because the pay is not the best and there is so much stress that goes into the job. They are extremely passionate about education and that is the main reason they are continuing that path. 

When I asked the students how they felt that their teacher does at making the classroom feel inclusive and manageable they said she tries her best to hear from each student and to make a connection with each one. They do see her get stressed and overwhelmed though throughout the week when the students are not able to keep on top of their work. One of the students said, “If we don’t do (homework and school work) then she gets more stressed out.” The school district and School board does know about these issues and in the next few years there will be a Consulting company evaluating and surveying how many new students are likely to move into the district and that will be able to set up the district’s next actions on to what they should do next. All that is known right now is that Bannach will not be the only school on the East side of the interstate for much longer. But as of right now, there is not much else that can be done to help with this nationwide issue.