Class Size Matters is a non-profit organization of parents and concerned citizens dedicated to achieving smaller classes in New York City and in the nation as a whole. Despite the fact that class size reduction is one of the few education reforms that has been proven to raise student achievement and narrow the achievement gap, large classes are very common, especially in high-needs urban districts around the country.
We examine the research on class size, analyze and monitor class size data, and provide summaries and fact sheets to parents, public officials, advocates and school board members around the country on the benefits of smaller classes.
We also brief parent and community groups and elected officials on the importance of class size in New York City, where we have the largest class sizes in the state and some of the largest in the nation.
In 2006, the organization uncovered evidence that the city was misusing the state early grade class size reduction funds . This evidence led to an audit from the State Comptroller's office, which revealed that with $89 million in state class size reduction funds, the city had only formed twenty additional classes in grades K-3.
Class Size Matters is headed by Leonie Haimson, a public school parent. In 1996, she was hired as a consultant for the Educational Priorities Panel to focus on the class size issue, and in 2000 wrote a report about the effects of the the first year of state and federally-funded smaller classes in several New York City public schools entitled Smaller is Better . The report was subsequently cited on the floor of the US Senate.
She founded Class Size Matters as an independent research and advocacy group in 2001. In 2003, she was profiled by the New York Times .
Haimson has published numerous opeds, articles, and letters in media outlets, and in 2006 the New York Times called her “the city's leading proponent of smaller classes” .In 2007, she co-founded the first New York City public school parent blog.
In 2007, Class Size Matters received the John Dewey Award from the United Federation of Teachers.
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Class Size Matters
124 Waverly Pl., New York, NY 10011
phone: 212-674-7320
