As we plan ahead for next year, we want to share a glimpse of what our campus will be like for the 2022-2023 school year in terms of enrollment. You will see from the data below, we intentionally keep our classrooms small. There are a ton of benefits for our students, their families, and our teachers.
These are just a few of those benefits.
Having smaller classes mean our teachers are able to give each student more attention. Teachers are able to better assess students and work with them one-on-one. This helps the teacher individualize instruction based on that student’s need and God-given talents and skills.
As our mission states, we want to partner with our families in the education of our students. Keeping our class size small means our teachers are also able to connect with our families. There are so many outside-of-school factors that impact how a student learns. When our teachers are able to better understand the dynamics of a student’s family, that knowledge can impact the entire educational experience for our students.
Smaller classes mean more participation. Our hope is that our students will be effective communicators and listeners. Those skills require practice. You will find in our classrooms we expect and encourage our students to actively participate and engage in the concepts they are learning. That could mean sharing a thought during a class discussion or making a formal presentation. When there are too many students in a classroom, some voices get shut out of the conversation.
Our mission to provide students with an “intercultural” component to their education is deeply tied to having small classrooms. Intercultural doesn’t just mean having lots of cultures around you. It means an active engagement between cultures. Smaller classes create a stronger sense of community within the classroom; students connect deeply with their peers and build strong relationships with them. In our school that is intentionally designed to reflect the wonderfully diverse world around us, our students are connecting and building relationships with people who are often very different from themselves.
As we keep these benefits (and many more) in mind, we are already planning for the 2022-2023 school year. Below you will find a breakdown of the class sizes you can expect at Charleston Bilingual Academy.
(Please note, we typically have a waiting list for nearly every class. Applying for enrollment early is a key step to securing a spot.)
CBA will offer one class for toddlers at age 20-months. There will only be 10 spots total (2 teachers).
CBA will offer one class for students at age 24-months. There will be 14 spots total (3 teachers).
We will have three classes for 3-year-old students with each class having no more than 15 students (2 teachers).
We will also have three sections for 4-year-old students. Each class will be capped at 16 students (2 teachers).
There are currently two classes for kindergarten. Each class will be capped at 18 students (2 teachers).
There will be two sections of first graders. There will be a max of 18 students per class (1 teacher plus 1 floating teacher aid between the two sections).
There will be two sections of second graders. There will be a max of 18 students per class (1 teacher).
We have one class of third graders. One class of fourth graders. And one class of students in fifth and sixth grades. Each class will be capped at 18 students (1 teacher per class).
