Burroughs and Burbank High Schools are adding more classes to reduce the teacher to student ratio for the spring semester at both campuses. When students return to school on Monday, January 6, many will have new schedules and smaller classes for core subjects like English, Math, Science, Social Science and Phys. Ed.
The Burbank Unified School District has some money available to reduce class sizes from the state’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), according to Emilio Urioste, Director of Secondary Education for the district. The money will provide for a full-day English teacher for the spring semester at Burroughs.
“When we found this money was able to be used to reduce class size in grades 9-12, we met with the principals from BHS and Burroughs and asked them to put together a plan to lower class size in the areas most impacted,” commented Urioste.
Burbank High School administrators were able to consolidate some smaller classes and had some teachers offer to add a class to their teaching schedule and thus were able to open up additional sections in English, Social Studies and Phys. Ed. for the spring. Burroughs also was able to find teachers interested in adding a class to their teaching schedule and with the addition of a full-day teacher, who will be a substitute to start the semester, was able to add six English classes, plus three in Math and one in Science.
“With large high schools like BHS and Burroughs, it is not unusual to have schedule changes at each semester,” added Urioste. The additional class sections will be added throughout all grades at the high schools, reducing the teacher to student ratio in the most critical areas, as identified by the schools’ principals.
“Because of these new class additions, students will need to arrive at school no later than 7:30 in the morning on Monday, January the sixth, to pick up a new schedule in the quad, just like we do on the first day of school,” Burroughs Principal John Paramo stated on the high school’s website, as all 2700 Burroughs students will receive new schedules – some with changes and some without. “Zero period classes will not meet on Monday, January the sixth, to accommodate students picking up schedules.”