Classroom Crunch: The Growing Dilemma of Insufficient Spaces

As the school year is in full swing, classroom shortages in the school have become a growing concern. Primary challenges our community faces involve students moving between various classrooms for the same class during the school week and teachers not having their own dedicated room. While this is a pre-existing problem for the School, it has become more of a prominent issue recently. While some may assume that students would be mostly affected by these classroom shortages, a majority of faculty and teachers are affected as well. While diving into this ongoing issue, one must first need to understand why these classroom shortages started

In an interview with a long-time Head-Royce faculty member who wished to stay anonymous, they explained that the root of the School’s classroom shortages dated back to the Great Recession in 2008. They explained that as a result of the economic hardships that arose during that year, Head Royce had to make up for potential losses by admitting more students than in past years. Admitting a little over the expected grade count has become a trend in admissions ever since. Even though grade levels are small, the extra 1-3 students every year start to add up to the point where our student body has overgrown our campus. 

Typically, the classroom shortages would be seen to affect the students more since they lead to overcrowded classrooms which potentially negatively affect one’s learning. However, recent interviews with faculty members have shed light on the troubles faculty members face on a daily basis.

The lack of classroom space puts some teachers and faculty members into a never-ending juggling act. Teachers must adapt their teaching methods to accommodate different classrooms, bigger class sizes, and the constant moving around campus. 

The anonymous teacher also explained how their lack of a permanent classroom has been “weird, but it has not bothered [them] too much.” They said one of the biggest changes they had to make was constantly finding spaces to host office hours because of their lack of a dedicated room. 

While classroom shortages continue, the School’s proactive response shows its commitment to ensuring the success of our student body and faculty regardless of classroom space. With the school addressing the shortages and devising creative solutions like implementing cousin advisings to optimize classroom usage, we can take a significant step towards creating more accommodating and conducive learning atmospheres for teachers and students.