HUFFINGTON
08.26.12
AP PHOTO/SHAWN ROCCO
SMART START?
Sabrena’s student-to-teacher ratio
is considered very good, Duke’s is
better. In a section of the website
titled “Our Advantage” the school
explains why it employs one teacher
for just every eight four-year-olds:
“Small class sizes allow teachers to
form close relationships with students and families—and to tailor
instruction to the needs and interests of the individual.”
“ALAN?”
“Here.”
“Alana.”
“Here.”
“Bryan?”
“Here!”
“Nawal?”
Silence.
“Nawal?”
Nawal is sitting on the rug
with her skinny legs folded, her
back straight, her hands clasped
in front of her belly. She’s looking
at Ms. Sabrena with an expression
that is neither angry nor friendly—
Ms. Sabrena thinks of it as “stoic.”
Her eyes are intelligent, observant.
“Nawal. Can you give me a
‘here’ today?”
Zanaya, a big, rambunctious fiveyear-old, presses the heels of her
hands into the carpet so that her
butt hovers above the floor. Bryan
Judge
Howard
Manning
ruled that
low-income
children have
the right
to a sound
education,
prompting
the state to
funnel money
into pre-K.