Colfax Charter Elementary School Is Popular on Enrollment Day

Parents arrived at Colfax Charter Elementary School in Valley Village early Tuesday morning to ensure that their children gained a coveted spot for the fall semester. 

They were responding to the fact that children in the area are no longer guaranteed a place in a school in their zone. If there were not enough places at their school of choice, parents feared their children would be bused out to neighboring schools. (Click on the attached video to the right to see more.)

Principal Susana Gomez-Judkins pointed out that school class size had been raised to 29 students per class from 24; while this would mean that most children could be accommodated, Gomez-Judkins said she was concerned that larger classroom sizes would stretch teachers too thinly.

"It's [a matter of] a higher quality of education for the really young students that need a lot of individual attention," said Gomez-Judkins. "Twenty-four students–even 20 students–is more ideal, but 24 is pretty much the limit. Twenty-nine students in a classroom is a lot."

While registering for enrollment, parents were also canvased by the Parents Association of Colfax Elementary (PACE) as to whether they would be willing to donate funds of up to $1,000 to help the school employ two more "class reduction teachers" to keep class sizes at 24. A handout given to parents by PACE outlined its proposal:

"The cost of buying one teacher currently has increased to about $90,000 with benefits. For 2 teachers we would need about $180,000. We must have these funds this May so that we can show the School District that we have the funding in place for them to allow us to buy the 2 teachers."

Parents at Colfax Charter Elementary spoke to Patch about their enrollment experiences and their thoughts on donating to the school. Click on the video above to hear what they had to say.