Walt Whitman Elementary parents asked the Syosset administration for additional support in third-grade classrooms at the Board of Education meeting on Monday, Sept. 15, because class sizes are larger than expected. Parents asked for class reduction tutors to offset the student-to-teacher ratio.
“I understand how much care is put into balancing resources, needs and budget across the district. However, as a parent of a current third-grader whose son is impacted by these decisions — and on behalf of other third-grade parents — I thought it was important to share the implications of these decisions,” said parent Allison Soren.
Superintendent Thomas Rogers said the district will be “attentive” to the classes’ needs and identify where learning and behavioral supports are necessary.
District policy caps class sizes at 25 students per classroom in kindergarten through third grade, and the current Walt Whitman third grade has 71 students across three classrooms. Soren said the current third-grade class sizes at Whitman vary between 23 and 24 students per room, while other elementary schools have classes with 16 to 21 students per room.
“That disparity is hard to accept… All of my son’s teachers have been beyond exceptional and wonderful, but of course, his classroom experience is different when he’s getting 1/24th of his teacher vs. 1/16th or 1/20th of his teacher’s time,” Soren said.
“Fewer students mean that the teacher can meet the needs of all children with a range of capabilities — from the child who needs extra guidance to the child who needs an accelerated pace,” said parent and resident Jennifer Maas.
Soren said the current class sizes are “at the very high end for developmental needs at this age.” She said the classrooms are physically tight, and that smaller class sizes allow for more individualized instruction.
She said parents had previously been told the cohort would be split into four classrooms and felt “blindsided and disregarded” by the decision to keep it at three.
Rogers said class sizes are finalized on the Wednesday before school begins, as late in the summer as possible, due to the fact that many families move in and out of the district over the summer months. He said that because of the 25-student cap in kindergarten through third-grade classrooms, any cohort at 75 students or above is automatically split into four sections.
In his 11 years at the district, Rogers said he and the Board of Education decided that classes would be preemptively split into four sections if they had an enrollment of 73 students.
“That action has naturally reduced class size in the district,” he said.
Rogers said the Walt Whitman third grade did not meet the 73-student requirement to split the cohort into four sections.
“No matter where you draw a line — if it’s two away from the split, three away from the split, four away from the split — whatever class is one more than that will say ‘I’m comparable,’” he said.
Rogers said Assistant Superintendent Theresa Curry has discussed staffing with building principals to identify areas where additional support is needed in the classroom.
The board also reviewed its secondary education student body programming, which aims to foster community through mental and socio-emotional support.
“We are an incredibly diverse community, but we are one community,” Rogers said.
Assistant Superintendent for Pupil Personnel Services Erin Goldthwaite said mental health services have strengthened as teachers and social workers continue to work together. She said the district currently has 15 psychologists, 10 social workers, 20 guidance counselors, and three behavior consultants — numbers that have increased each year over the past four years that Goldthwaite has been in the district.
Goldthwaite said when students feel supported by their peers and adults around them, their academic learning “accelerates.”
Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Curriculum David Steinberg said that Syosset P.R.I.D.E. — which stands for Patience, Respect, Integrity, Dignity, and Empathy — is at the core of the district’s work.
He said that trusted peer and mentor relationships are fostered through a variety of curricular and extracurricular activities that the district offers. There are over 360 course offerings, 200 club offerings from 6th through 12rh grade, and over 120 athletic team offerings from 7th through 12th grade.
“Through those choices, they’re actually strengthening their voice,” Steinberg said. He said students learn to advocate for themselves and their interests.
Steinberg said the curriculum is regularly reviewed to ensure that students’ interests are reflected. For example, he said the choral curriculum was expanded to include non-Western music.
“As our student population evolves, our curriculum is evolving with them,” Steinberg said.
Goldthwaite said that when students do not feel supported by available offerings, additional supports are in place, including wellness spaces, alternative recess locations, lunch-time workshops, group counseling, and specialized clubs. She said these school and co-curricular activities offer more structure for students who may feel overwhelmed during unstructured periods, like lunch or recess.
“These are not just additional programs. These are not just additional experiences that we’re building. It’s a systemwide statement that all students belong,” she said.
Goldthwaite said the district has additional community partnerships, including Northwell Health and Central Nassau Guidance and Counseling Services, if necessary.
Trustee Lynn Abramson asked if the middle schools would be able to implement clubs that meet at lunch to offer students an organic way to meet those with similar interests during the school day.
“That lunchtime can change a child’s entire day,” she said.
“Because Syosset is so large…I think there are a lot of kids who wind up getting lost, who aren’t necessarily struggling with social skills, but who are lost nevertheless,” said Trustee Susan Falkove.
Goldthwaite said there are ongoing conversations about middle-school lunch clubs and that administrators will continue to look into it.
Student representative Nikhil Shah said the student government and peer leaders are looking to implement board and card games at the middle school during lunch periods to help students find common interests.
“We understand that without devices now, students might lack a crutch when they feel excluded,” he said.
Secondary education wasn’t the only curriculum that was examined, as the board looked at its pre-school program.
Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Curriculum Jeanette Wojcik said the Universal Pre-K program currently has 231 students enrolled for the 2025-2026 school year, and that the program holds up to 400 students.
Wojcik said the most important aspect of the program is “learning through play” in both structured and unstructured ways. She said while students are playing with one another, they are building language, motor, socio-emotional, problem-solving and collaborative skills.
“Creating a sense of belonging at every level is our top priority,” she said.
Board President Carol Cheng asked how the district bridges the gap between students who have been in UPK and those who have not been when they enter kindergarten.
“We design instruction for the students presented in front of us,” Wojcik said. She said kindergarten teachers target their curriculum for the students in the classroom to help support their learning needs.
Trustee David Ginsburg asked if state funding for the program would be decreased due to the enrollment rate, but Wojcik said that is not the case.
At the beginning of the board meeting, the district celebrated 47 students who were named All-State musicians by the New York State School Music Association. The association recognizes the top students from school music departments across the state.
“This is the highest number of all-state musicians in Nassau County and quite possibly the entire state,” said Christopher Hale, the district’s fine and performing arts coordinator.
Hale said 26 students were selected to perform at the state concert in December and the number could increase as alternate musicians are selected closer to the performance date.
