LYNN — With 416 new high school students this year, the Lynn Public School administration knows there is an overcrowding issue.
The superintendent and school committee members addressed the concerns at Thursday’s meeting.
School Committee member Lorraine Gately introduced the topic by saying she’s had teachers from Lynn English call and tell her they have upwards of 40 students in a classroom. She said the administration needs to come up with ideas to alleviate the overcrowding.
“We need to help these people,” Gately said. “I can’t imagine teaching an honors physics class by myself with 38 students in it. Something needs to be done. As an educator, I don’t think I could teach and reach all of these students.”
The first step of alleviating a problem is addressing it, said Superintendent Patrick Tutwiler. He said the current school year has brought in 1,896 new students to Lynn English, 1,697 to Classical, and 1,331 new students to Tech.
There are 126 more freshmen in this year’s class than there were last year at Classical, while at English there are 151 more ninth graders — about a 400 percent increase over the 31 in 2018.
The numbers relate to the students who walk into the buildings every day, Tutwiler said. He counted out the students who attend classes at Fecteau Leary Junior-Senior Alternative School. The high schools are still engaging in the withdrawal process so the number of new students could look different in two weeks, he added.
“I don’t think there was any way to know there would have been this kind of jump,” said Tutwiler. “By mid-October, I should have a better idea of where we stand.”
School Committee member Donna Coppola said she wonders where all these new students are coming from and asked Tutwiler to give an update on that at some point. The data would give the committee a better idea of what they are working with, she said.
“Right now, I don’t think there is an elegant solution,” Tutwiler said. “Even if we hired additional staff, there are no extra rooms for them to teach in.”
While there is no instant way to alleviate the issue, there were a few ideas for temporary solutions that were kicked around by administrators Thursday. The first is the LPS High School Design Project, which is part of the district’s strategic plan, which was unanimously voted in at the meeting.
The design project is an idea that will provide college and career pathways for Lynn high school students. It includes flexible schedules, internships, and free blocks during the day so students can utilize school services, such as nurses, counselors or social workers, and tend to their social/emotional needs.
Shannon Gardner, assistant director of Curriculum and Instruction K-12 Humanities at Lynn Public Schools, gave a full presentation on the project. She said it would allow students to start their day taking core content classes at one school and end the day taking a trade workshop at Lynn Tech.
While there is a goal of starting off with the nearly 70 students on Lynn Tech’s waiting list, Gardner said she and her team hope to have a full plan by January.
Introduced by School Committee member John Ford, the other idea for a temporary solution is portable classrooms. The city is beyond the time frame for looking to build its way out of the problem, he said.
“I think it’s important to have portable classrooms at Lynn English by next September,” said Ford. “Maybe down the road we can have them for Breed (Middle School) as well, but I think we need them for Lynn English right now.”
There are two rooms per portable classroom, said Mayor Thomas M. McGee, and there are already several in place at some of the city’s elementary schools, including Hood Elementary School. While the portable rooms typically have a two-year life expectancy, the one at Hood School is going on 35 years, even though it was recently renovated, Ford said.
While School Committee member Michael Satterwhite said he enjoyed the portable classrooms he was in when he finished high school in Florida, School Committee member Brian Castellanos pointed out the rough winters in Massachusetts compared to the Sunshine State.
Coppola said she wanted to know by the next meeting where the money for portable classrooms would be coming from and Castellanos wanted to invite schools who already have them so the committee could hear feedback.
“I find it striking to see the numbers rise like this,” said School Committee member Jared Nicholson. “While it is challenging, it’s a positive thing to see so many students see a future for themselves in our high schools.”