How Much is
too Much?
D
angit I’m late to math again!
Oh well, as long as I can sneak to the
back.
What the…? Not one empty desk!
Where am I going to sit now, on the floor?
This could become a reality soon enough if
growth at Ralston Valley continues at its current
rate. Right now, there are a total of 1,828 students
who come in and out of the building daily.
Built with a capacity of 1,750 students in mind,
and with multiple housing developments sprouting
up around the boundary area, our high school is
destined to become even more overcrowded in the
next few years.
According to Ms. Halgren, current registrar in
RV’s counseling office, “We have 504 9th graders,
456 10th graders, 442 11th graders, and 426 12th
graders. That puts us 78 students over the capacity.”
This increasing situation also has an effect on
8
the teachers and their work capabilities.
“Teachers cannot teach more than a total of 150
students,” said Ms. Ross, current Assistant Principle
in charge of the school’s master schedule, acknowledging every teacher’s contractual workload.
One solution to this problem is having teachers
teach more classes to accommodate more students.
This goes along with a new class sized relief program which is the first step towards fighting the
constant influx of students.
Behind the scenes, making schedules that accommodate for the large amount of kids is also becoming more of a challenge. The counselors are the ones
who place every single student in every one of their
classes so it’s key that there are enough classrooms
to put all the students in.
Now, it’s becoming more difficult to put students
in their core classes since these courses are required.
As Ms. Zaboth, current counselor described, “Every
student is required to take classes like Math, Eng-