Yeshiva Sanity: So Far So Good...

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

So Far So Good...

He'atid had Back-to-School night last night & it seemed as though everything was running smoothly. The teachers & parents both had mostly positive attitudes. The classrooms were clean & decked out with brand new furniture built as a labor of love by parent volunteers. It's a shame that the brand new computers are still sitting there practically untouched but I'm sure that will change after the chagim. Privately I heard that the school is on the projected budget, even though they are operating at a deficit the first year as expected. Anyone there last night have any thoughts?

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Sora · 654 weeks ago

Teachers are very impressive. very warm and loving. they explained the model /how blended learning will be used in the class . very impressed the jewish component - a lot of emphasis on bein adam l'chavero and emphasis on relationship with God. Content of learning is similar to what one would find in another school - the method and the ability to focus on each kids' needs or allow each kid to exfel is different. Impressed with the idea of becoming self sufficient and independent - first kids are taught to really think if they know the answer, if they dont, then they are taught to ask someone in their group they are working with, if not, they can ask another student in the class, and finally if no one can help, then the teacher. it also fosters the ability to learn from each student and work in a group.

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End Welfare · 654 weeks ago

All the feedback I have heard from parent-body is positive, positive, positive. Who would have thought a few years ago you would be able to get a normal mainstream MO education in Bergen County for under $9k. Wow! To think about all the extra money that has gone down the toilet at certain other schools to line the pockets of certain excess unneeded admins is a shame. That money could have been put to good use.

1 reply · active 654 weeks ago

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Sora · 654 weeks ago

it is a new school - there are going to be glitches - (although in the older schools it seems like there are many glitches as well!) but overall the school is professional and functioning as a normal school. walking into it, no one would know it is a brand new school. the teachers are experienced as is the administration. seems like it is off to a great start and hopefully it continues.

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Guest1 · 654 weeks ago

First graders have already been on the computers for literacy assessments. I read somewhere (maybe Jewish Standard), that computers would be introduced into regular use after the chagim.

So far, so good. No complaints.

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Proud He'atid Parent · 654 weeks ago

Guest - I don't know if you're right about Noam and BPY - as far as I can remember they set their tuitions in line with the other legacy schools. Now maybe the other schools were also at $8-9 - this was 12 years ago now. But then you're not comparing apples with apples because He'Atid is $8K NOW, while Noam and BPY are $13-14K now for early childhood (not counting $850 registration, dinner and building fund)

1 reply · active 654 weeks ago

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HeAtid Parent · 654 weeks ago

Count me as impressed. After what I saw last night, I wish there was a grade for my older kids. GD - I'm begging you. Please start a high school!!!

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Proud He'atid Parent · 654 weeks ago

I was there last night and it was really nice. Parents were excited, teachers were well organized, classrooms nice, etc. There was a positive energy. Was it so extremely different from EC classrooms at other schools? Probably not so much.... But who cares - it's the start of something great. And in 1st grade and up I think it will be remarkably different. (at a fraction of the cost!)

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End Welfare · 654 weeks ago

Now that Heatid is off to a successful start, there is something seriously wrong with this community if GD does not get some serious kibbudim this holiday season.

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anon · 654 weeks ago

A lot more people than GD have made heatid successful.

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in the sand · 654 weeks ago

people, do you really all have your heads that buried in the sand? yes, it is fabulous that they started up and can charge 9k tuition this year but they are not a real school like noam, bpy, yavneh, moriah, etc. they are a PRESCHOOL! a preschool who needed more than 2 million dollars to open up for 100 kids. so in reality, they have the highest cost per student in bergen county. what happens when they need a real building, with real office staff and admins, a real gym for kids to play, real facilities, etc? the community wont be forking over million per year to subsidize it much longer once the numbers are seen for what they are.

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Miami Al · 654 weeks ago

If adding more students makes cost/student go up, do NOT add more students. There is a maximum organizational size where the diminishing costs (efficiency of amortizing a principal across more students) is overwhelmed with the increasing costs (needing an extra round of middle management, i.e. 3 Vice Principals to extend the reach of 1 Principal). There is no need to grow to that point.

1 reply · active 654 weeks ago

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Sora · 654 weeks ago

in the sand - the community is not who 'forked' over the $. and 1st grade is not part of preschool.

1 reply · active 654 weeks ago

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Sora · 654 weeks ago

in the sand- if you are going to use that tired, flawed argument then surely you must realize that tuition at the legacy schools is not what is posted on the right of this blog but rather you need to factor in all the funding the legacy schools are getting from AviChai, from parent donations, etc in order to get their cost per student. I imagine you will find that the legacy schools' costs per student are astronomical.

1 reply · active 654 weeks ago

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Sora · 654 weeks ago

yes really Guest. the main money used - the million you are talking about came from a donor or group of donors who dont live in BC and had no intention of contributing to the other schools. And again you are making an assumption that any money that did come from the community would have been put back into existing schools.
he'atid is not misleading. You are misleading people - it is a non profit and will keep fundraising as all non profits do.
and he'atid is a start up so they have start up costs - their costs for the start up are not per student costs that will continue to be needed every year
and again, if you divide what other schools get from fundraising and avichai, per student costs are huge there - they are much more than what He'atid is spending. So if you are going to factor in all donations, make sure you do it for tuition at legacy schools.

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Guest · 654 weeks ago

Sora, while i applaud your enthusiasm for heatid your assertion about the other schools raising a huge amount of money and therefore having a much higher cost per student than the published tuition is simply not borne out by the facts. Almost all of the schools publish some form of financials so this is easily verified. When heatid publishes its financials we will all be able to see how it is using the funds it raises as well and whether these are subsidizing its tuition to a greater extent than the others. Unless you are willing to publicize actual numbers as the other schools do it is pointless to debate the point.

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Sora · 654 weeks ago

if you look up at the earlier posts, you are the one who said that 'they have the highest cost per student in Bergen county'. now you are backtracking and say that we wont know unless He'atid publicizes actual #s? I guess it is ok to just make any statement you want as long as no one challenges what you say.
(of course in your statements you also neglect to say that much of the money used is for start up costs that are not repetitive costs - i guess in that case we would need to include Noam's start up costs in their per student costs right?)

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Teaneck Tommy · 654 weeks ago

It's pretty obvious that Heatid is spending money like water. I have no idea what the educational experience will be like but my guess that as soon as this new fad wears off and outside contributions slow down, tuition will start creeping up, maybe quickly. This is exactly why so many new schools fail; the cost of starting one is simply astronomical.

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Guest · 654 weeks ago

Sora, I'm not the same person who posted above so I can't comment on the assertions above. Just your comments.

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in the sand · 654 weeks ago

sora, to answer some of your questions & comments:
yes, the "community" did fork over the money. i was at the parlor meetings, i wrote a check as did many others who dont have kids there. so yes, the JEWISH COMMUNITY did give 1.5 million to you guys.

heatid is a pre-school with 20 or so poor first graders aka guinea pigs. when 85% of your school is a preschool, then you are a preschool. sorry to burst your balloon. and oh, by the way, the HIGHEST COST PER STUDENT PRESCHOOL IN BC.

legacy donations vs heatid- all heatid kool-aid drinkers want to talk about the fact that legacy tuition isnt the real number but the all in number is the real number. so yes, legacy tuition is higher but the dinners, scholarship, etc are part of that all in number, so our cost per student isnt that astronomical- its the all in number! heatid is ONLY floating now on donations. the 900k you got from tuition wouldnt even get the doors open there. you raised 1.5 million and still need 200k to break even this year on top of the 900k in tuition! that is 2.6 million for 100 preschool kids. sorry the math hurts but its just the real numbers.

.

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in the sand · 654 weeks ago

and the start up costs arent even the real ones yet. what happens when you need a 15 million dollar building? or even just real facilities? oh right, lemme guess, recess will be done online! and the school basketball team will play in the cyber dome.

sora, sorry you drank the kool aid but it hope it tastes just as good coming up as it did going down

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Guest · 654 weeks ago

Sora, I'd suggest you are making a big mistake in assuming that just because some of the funds raised came from outside the community they are effectively at no cost. Heatid has started a new school with a strong, some are arguing flawed, premise that they can provide an education at a lower cost. They are pulling children away from other schools based on this premise, which appears funded by charity rather than a truly lower cost model, and raising the costs elsewhere. In fact, Heatid has raised the cost of education in our community as a whole, while saving money for some families. This is why the claim of hundreds of thousands in savings achieved rings so hollow if you are willing to be honest about it. Regardless of whether it is one time or ongoing cost, $1.5m and more to start a school is a real cost, the savings to parents in Heatid is local and questionable because there are existing options with similar tuitions and Heatid is driving inefficiencies in other parts of the educational system at a minimum in the short-term, perhaps longer.

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Sora · 654 weeks ago

wow in the sand and Guest. you really sound upset. it is amazing to hear the devastation hea'tid has brought upon the bc jewish community and the legacy schools! Silly, selish me and all those involved with he'atid who didn't want to continue with the status quo of continuously rising tuitions and parents being unable to afford to send their kids to yeshiva day school. Everyone whined about it, everyone knew it was a problem, Rabbis spoke about the tuition problem from the pulpit. but no one did anything. Shame on those he'atid founders and funders! Thank God for people like you who can tell us how it really is and tell us what is really right! Hopefully the He'atid people will read your posts and close up shop now before it is too late and He'atid makes the BC yeshiva day school educational system so inefficient that people will stop having children out of fear that they will have to go to one of the yeshivas!

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Guest · 654 weeks ago

Sora, no need for the histrionics. If you don't want to engage on a dialogue on the points raised above you can simply ignore them. No one is claiming doom and gloom just pointing out some flaws in the logic of your comments and many of the marketing pieces from heatid.

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Sora · 654 weeks ago

btw - all sarcasm aside -Guest - if you are really worried about inefficiencies perhaps speak to Yavneh, Moriah, and BPY and find out why we need 3 schools that are half full with plenty of room for more students. Find out why they all need to exist, why they all need separate administrations and buildings? Why not try and shut down BPY? It seems to me all you have said above could be targeted at them. Surely when BPY opened it took away students from Yavneh and Moriah. Why dont you rant against them as you have against He'atid?

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Guest · 654 weeks ago

Fact check much?

When BPY opened the other community schools were at capacity and turning away students. The community rabbi's advocated for more schools in order to allow growth of jewish families moving in to Bergen County.

He'atid really is pulling kids out of schools and causing more inefficiencies. There is no need in the community for another school.

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Sora · 654 weeks ago

Guest - the problem is what you are presenting as facts are not really the facts. $250k was raised from the community - not 1.5$ as you say above - a large chunk came from the donor and then organizations like AviChai. he'atid has a budget - it is not based on charity. the budget has start up costs and a break even point. As YD wrote, He'atid is not above their budget and is progressing thus according to plan. Unlike other preschools, while starting out with prek -1st, much of the infrastructure being put in place is for a school that plans on expannding each year - so that makes it different than the typical preschool in BC. And I am not sure why you call the first graders poor - the parents thus far are very happy. it is hard to have a dialogue when much that is being presented as fact just isn't true -and at the same time it is hard to have a dialogue when whoever defends He'atid is told he is drinking the kool aid.

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Sora · 654 weeks ago

Guest - have you checked reality lately? Yavneh, Moriah and BPY are nowhere near capacity. By staying open and separate schools now, they are causing major inefficiencies in the community. BPY is no longer needed - it is merely just siphoning students from the other schools. Move with the times -encourage it to close!

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Proud He'atid Parent · 654 weeks ago

I wish there was such passion and energy directed to solving the tuition crisis as there is knocking He'Atid. Even if it took $1.5 million to start - who cares? That donor willingly gave it and it's an investment in the future of affordable Jewish education. That same donor is now looking to fund other heatid schools in Westchester and Long Island. The name is very befitting - this is the way of the future - blended learning, greater efficiences, more working-parent friendly calendar, and affordable tuition - you're watching something great in the making. Stop knocking it - embrace it. If the other schools have to change to keep up, have more days of school, cut tuitions - this is good for the Jews.

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Tim · 654 weeks ago

Sora- I hate to break it to you but with the exception of BPY's 6th and 7th grades, every other class from Toddler through 5th grade is at or near capacity. In fact, class size is larger than it has ever been in the school's history because of high demand and the school's desire to run efficiently. There was a waiting list for many classes for this school year.

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thatguy · 654 weeks ago

my kids are at legacy schools. i am happy with their education and accept that cost is part of the equation. i wish he'atid good luck over the next few years. I think any assessment of success or failure is premature until the first class has at least gotten to eighth grade. wake me up then and i'll have something snappy to say.

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Guest · 654 weeks ago

sorry Tim but Sora here representing the heatid board has decided that bpy doesn't have a right to exist. sucks but what can you do.

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whatithink · 654 weeks ago

Hi Everybody, maybe I'm naive...or just "out of it", but why can't everyone just leave He'Atid alone? They're not hurting anyone, the kids are happy, parents are happy, and the teachers seem fantastic. I don't remember this kind of drama/craziness/"beef" between schools (and people) when BPY opened all those years ago...(maybe I forgot- my apologies in advance...but I don't recall)

Look, I guess we'll all (lovers of Atid and its haters) have to wait and see...but I 100% give all respect to those who wish it well....It may not be everyone's cup of tea, which is 10000% fine, but can't we live and let live? They're not burdening/hindering/bothering anyone.....

I don't know, maybe I sound ridiculous or too "positive", but I think we, parents of kids in day schools, should stick together....and like I said, we'll see what - hopefully all good things.

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anon · 654 weeks ago

bpy siphoned kids off from existing schools, similar to the way that heatid is doing now even if its for a good cause -the current system has no future. so many people are out of work or not making as much money anymore
bpy was created b/c the sephardic community wanted their own school, turns out they couldn't support it and it's not really a sephardi school anymore
even if the argument for noam and bpy was capacity they still should not have been created. expand an existing school - add on to existing structure or create a satellite location.

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Guest2 · 654 weeks ago

When Noam and BPY were started the current schools were at or approaching capacity. Both schools started and grew while the current schools also continued to grow. Heatid is taking kids away from the current schools and leaving some with excess capacity. Just a fact, no a condemnation. People want variety and the school that meets their needs. Each of these schools meets the need of some group with Heatid now meeting the need of those who want a low cost / low frills school. Nothing wrong with that but it will cause disruption and bad economics for a while. So while individuals will benefit from variety and choice, overall the system is loosing money due to overcapacity and potentially unrealistic expectations because the low cost school is being subsidized and may not be sustainable. Time will tell but not an attack on anyone in particular, just observations.

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End Welfare · 654 weeks ago

"Each of these schools meets the need of some group with Heatid now meeting the need of those who want a low cost / low frills school."

Lol. Other than excess useless admins, remind me what "frills" Heatid is lacking compared to the legacy schools? You have got to be kidding me but you obviously need to justify why you are paying double.

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Teaneck Tommy · 654 weeks ago

Kudos for Heatid for being the low cost/low frills option. Every study I have read tells me that blended learning is essentially worthless under grade six, but they have sold the parents on this, so, good for them. I think it will become obvious over time that Heatid will be the go to school for parents that cannot afford the higher tuitions. There's a place for everyone.

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Guest · 654 weeks ago

I don't think anyone is saying that heatid doesn't have a right to exist. Rather they should be upfront about their model. The model itself does not keep the cost down. If it did, every school in the US would be switching over. The tremendous fundraising behind the scenes is keeping the cost to parents down.

Unfortunately, the average person does not understand this and it is causing the legacies to be viewed in a negative light for no reason.

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End Welfare · 654 weeks ago

"Unfortunately, the average person does not understand this and it is causing the legacies to be viewed in a negative light for no reason."

There is no shortage of reasons to view the legacies in a negative light. Many of us viewed them (and those who run them) in a negative light long before Heatid ever came on to the scene.

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Miami Al · 654 weeks ago

It depends. If He'atid does not raise enough money for scholarships, will they cut scholarships? Will families be told to go elsewhere and the spot given to a child on the waiting list for that grade?

If so, they'll hold tuition down, if not, they won't.

That math is rather simple. 85% of Yeshiva costs are wages. Wages historically rise at inflation+1% over time (real wage growth is 1% per year). Over time, costs will rise at 1% over inflation.

If the "tuition collected" number is 100%, then tuition rises with costs, at roughly 1% over inflation.

If the "tuition collected" number drifts down to the 67% that is historically the case in Bergen County, then tuition rises at 1.5x Wage Growth rate.

If the "tuition collected" number drifts down to the 50% that is common in South Florida, your tuition will grow at 2x Wage Growth rate.

The latter scenarios mean that either you raise tuition RAPIDLY, or you fail to keep up with wage growth for teacher salaries, and eventually death spiral as your good teachers leave and your bad teachers stay.

Good luck, but there really isn't magic involved, the math is pretty easy.

The schools aren't bloated, per se, the schools are under capacity and therefore need to dump excess inventory at discounted rates. Lots of schools creates competition, competition drives down prices, which in Yeshiva land, is a decrease in the tuition collected rate, not the listed rack rate... No different that Chevrolet spending $90k to make a volt, putting an MSRP of $50k on it, and selling it for $30k w/ discounts. There is a lot of moralizing involved, but Chevy was offering a 67% discount last month for Chevy Volts via Leasing, how is that different, economically, from the Yeshiva situation.

Pretty sure that the Pentagon, just directed to buy 1,500 Volts, paid full price of $50k, maybe more.

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Sora · 654 weeks ago

Guest -you are wrong - the model itself - see Rocketship or other schools who use this model, keep the costs down. You are confusing start up costs with costs going forward. How amazing by the way - that a small start up is able to fundraise so tremendously. They got $ from wealthy donors and from organizatiosn. Do you really think these people are so dumb that they are just throwing money at a new school and plan to subsidize the school in the future? If their sole way to keep the cost down is to fundraise why are these donors giving to this school and not to the existing schools? it is funny how all these people have been fooled and only you - some annoynymous blogger knows the truth.
Guest - I dont represent the He'atid board. I am a hea'tid parent. I guess if I represent the board, then you represent the board at the legacy where you send your kids -and that Board, based on your remarks, must be really nervous and scared about what He'atid is doing. If He'atid wasn't a threat, you wouldn't be wasting your time bashing it.

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Guest · 654 weeks ago

rocketship is a charter school and gets funding from the township & state. They solicit donations to cover the expenses of opening schools and improving, expanding programs and creating new programs.

How are new programs and expanding programs not considered part of the educational expense associated with the school? It is just creative accounting to say that tuition ( and in rocketship's case, state funding) covers just operating costs and current programs, but anything new or expanded is considered start up.

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Miami Al · 654 weeks ago

"How are new programs and expanding programs not considered part of the educational expense associated with the school?"

GAAP? You have to separate operating costs from capital expenditures and R&D/startup things, because you expense operating costs, depreciate capital improvements, and amortize R&D/startup costs.

"It is just creative accounting to say that tuition ( and in rocketship's case, state funding) covers just operating costs and current programs, but anything new or expanded is considered start up."

No, it's actually pretty standard accounting. If the organization took state funds and followed your model, someone could go to jail.

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in the sand · 654 weeks ago

sora- you have still not addressed the question of how heatid will fund itself based on 9k tuition when it needs real facilities, a real campus and honestly a real school. heatid is still only a preschool with 20 guinea pig first graders.

heatid has no building fund bc you have no building!
there is no dinner obligation bc you have yet to have a dinner! how do you have a dinner for 60 families?

again sora, sorry the truth hurts, but heatid is a very expensive preschool and nothing more. donors gave money bc they were blinded by the marketing genius of GD. once the truth is seen by all, the donors will run for the hills. or, lets just say they love the model that much and other schools are now opening- you know what happens, right? these donors spread their money among all the new scams opening up. now where does heatid get money from? food for thought...

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Teacher · 654 weeks ago

The reason people are not letting HeAtid just live and be well is because of blogs like this one and, previously, the 200k chump. HeAtid's existence did not come from a positive place. It came from a place of people, at least in the blogsphere, speaking highly negatively towards administrators, teachers, and families in the existing schools. Those schools were constantly under attack for every financial decision they made, the teachers accused of "whining" and being lazy, the administrators overpaid, and the families cheating the system or being just plain dumb. At the same time, HeAtid is being praised for things other schools have done forever - parents building furniture? Really? That's happened in every school I've ever been a part of - as a student or teacher. The reason people feel the need to attack is because they have been attacked. I, for one, am a teacher who is utterly disgusted by the comments consistently made here about me and my fellow teachers. And I know more than 1 fantastic teacher who has considered quitting because of the comments she hears around the shabbos table. I have questions about HeAtid's model from an educational perspective, but I am not entirely opposed to it. I would, however, never teach there. Not because of the model or philosophy, but because of the negative attitude those people on this blog who are sending their children there seem to have towards teachers and administrators as a whole (except, of course, those who work at HeAtid). I'll stick with my batch of parents, who are nothing but appreciative of the hard work and long hours I and everyone else put in to teaching and caring for their children. I guarantee that if HeAtid had come with positive community discussions rather than a full blown bashing of everything the Jewish community has ever build for itself and the people who give their life to Jewish education, people would be more willing to wish it well.

2 replies · active 654 weeks ago

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Anne · 654 weeks ago

Teacher - read the posts on this blog again. the posts were all about people being positive about their experiences at He'atid until in the sand and guests started being negative about the school. so dont say it all started with the he'atid parents. and sadly enough - at least at one of the largest legacy schools in town you dont need He'atid parents to be negative about the school - just go to the nearest park on the Sabbath and you will hear parents of children in that legacy school bad mouthing the school, its teachers and its administration. STOP connecting He'atid with chump blog just because he was a proponent of the school. the school was not created from negativity to other schools - it was created to solve a tuition crisis. saying that the founders of Hea'tid and those going to the school is just another way to delegitimize the school.

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Too soon to judge · 654 weeks ago

I know many parents who considered He'Atid until they looked closely. When they learned that they, when fully built out, will have 24-26 kids in a classroom with, at times, only one instructor, their focus switched to the other schools in town. It is very simple math - 1/3 - 1/2 fewer instructores will lead to significant savings. Even if donations dry up, the student to teacher ratio causes a big gap in pricing with other schools. Now, what happens if a child acts up? What happens if 2 kids are 100% stuck on something? What happens if a student gets injured or really sick in a classroom? I am sure they have emergency plans, as at times, one adult is in the room with a large number of children, but most parents I spoke to preferred 2-3 instructors per room, especially for younger grades. The jury is out if that extra large expense is necessary or if He'Atid's cut cost model will work, but to say it won't or "so far so good" when they had 8 days of preschool so far is comical. Can we wait 24 - 36 months? if school is still around and growing and kids are performing equally as their peers at other schools, they have started to show their cost cutting measures worked...if not, the many parents turning elsewhere now were right. But for now, premature to decide. I wish EVERYONE good luck.

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Anne · 654 weeks ago

at he'atid, in prek and k there is one teacher and one assistant in each grade. As the grades get older, there is one teacher with a floating assistant. So in the younger grades (preschool) there are just as many teachers as in (at least some) of the other schools in town, so the argument that parents went to other schools because they needed 2-3 teachers in the preschool doesn't really hold up. And at least in one legacy school in BC, in the higher grades, there is just one teacher and one floating assistant, with as many as 23-24 kids in a class. So - too soon to judge - i am not sure i see a difference - except that the model is different - which potentially allows for fewer teachers.
i think the reason that people say so far so good is that the school has been ridiculed from day one - never will get the funding, never will get a principal, wont have a building, wont get teachers, will get really bad teachers, wont open, is way over budget. So far all of that has been disproven and students are happily learning in the school.
other than that, i agree with too soon to judge - so far so good - but very premature to decide whether the school will ultimately succeed..

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Anne · 654 weeks ago

Too soon to judge - it is not an emergency plan - it is a completely different model. the parents can't look at the existing legacy schools' model and wonder how that will work with fewer teachers and more students. the parents need to look at and understand He'atid's model and what about the model makes it work even with 2 kids being stuck on something (injured or sick- all the classrooms have a phone - i am sure they can call the principal or 911) or different kids having different needs.

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Too soon to judge · 654 weeks ago

Anne - I am too soon to judge. I was REPORTING what I have been TOLD by parents that went to open houses, parlor meetings, etc. but chose other options. However, as I wrote, anyone with pom poms or ridicule at this early stage is premature. I hope ALL programs have success, but to say it is failure, success, sustainable at this price, won't be adjusted, etc. is way too early.

Good luck to all and chag sameyach.

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Miami Al · 653 weeks ago

In Florida, by law, class sizes from PreK-3 are capped @ 18. Previously, it was phased in at district level then school level (so you could average out). In charter schools, I believe that htey can still do it by class size.

Prek-3: 18 students
4-8: 22 students
9-12: 25 students

Prior to this recent change (via state Constitutional amendment), it was not uncommon to have 24-25 students in a Kindergarten class with a single teacher.

No clear evidence if rising scores relate to the class size amendments or the tightening standards resulting in better education, time will tell. But any sort of flipped model, specialists in the classroom, or other technique can make 24 a perfectly reasonable classroom size.

That's not to say that it's not nicer to be smaller, historically that was one way the private schools differentiated themselves (and this has caused educational costs to explode), but the idea that it's a total disaster is silly.

That said, if you are finally sound enough that you can afford a $5k-$6k premium for 3 teachers/24 kids instead of 1 teacher/24 kids, go nuts, totally reasonable.

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