Schools

Student-Staff Ratios at Greenfield, Whitnall Schools and How They Compare

See how the number of students per staff member at in both local districts stack up against nearby districts and the state.

One thing that always comes up when districts talk about laying off staff, is the student-staff ratio. In general, according to the non-profit group Class Size Matters, a lower ratio is considered good, providing for smaller class sizes and giving students more opportunity for attention from teachers. 

There were 870,470 students enrolled in Wisconsin public and charter school in the 2011-12 school year. Those schools employed 3,497 administrators, 31,532 aides and support staff, and 65,446 licensed staff members. (All employment numbers are full-time equivalents, meaning two half-time staff members would count as one.)

Average staff-student ratios are as follows: 249 students per administrator, 28 students per aide/support staff, and 13 students per licensed staff member. 

Find out what's happening in Greenfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The lowest student-licensed staff ratio in the state is in the tiny Norris School District, which has a ratio of 3.61 for its 52 students and 14.4 licensed staff FTEs. The highest student-licensed staff ratio at a public school district is 18, for the Paris J1 district in Kenosha County, which has 252 students and 13.85 licensed staff FTEs. There were two Milwaukee charter schools with ratios of 19 students to licensed staff FTE.

Here's how local districts stack up, according to information from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. All numbers are for the 2011-12 school year.

Find out what's happening in Greenfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Greenfield School District, with a total enrollment of 3,813 students, has staff levels well below the state average. Its average of 250 students per administrator is on par with the average, but its 37.7 students per aide/support staff is much higher.

Its ratio of 16.4 student-license staff ratio falls closer to the state high set in Kenosha County than it does the state average.

Meanwhile, Whitnall, with a total enrollment of 2,361, beats the state average with its student-administrator ratio of 227 and student-support staff ratio of just less than 26. Whitnall also has a student-license staff ratio of 14.7, which falls above the state average.

Are you happy with the ratios at your district?


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