Parents, students, teachers contend with split-level classes as school year starts
TORONTO — As the new academic year gets underway, students, teachers and parents are gearing up to deal with one of the education system’s more controversial elements: split-level classes.
Some parents worry that integrating students from several grades, typically to offset shrinking enrolment or mitigate a surge in a particular year, leaves younger pupils behind or fails to adequately challenge more advanced ones.
But educators and experts say split classes can be beneficial — and the outcome often depends on the teacher.
“When (my daughters) were first put in split classes, I wasn’t too happy about it,” says Christine Armstong, a mother from Innisfil, Ont.