The LAUSD teachers’ strike last January reaped many benefits for public schools ranging from higher pay for teachers to more counselors and librarians. One of the major results that is now being put into effect at Venice for the first time is class size reduction.

 Now math and English classes have a cap between 33 and 39 students, depending on grade level and whether the class is in the comprehensive school or a magnet. Many students are getting switched out of their classes at the seventh week mark, causing some disruption in Venice’s school rosters. Students in all kinds of classes are affected, including PE, math, Spanish, and other core classes that students need to graduate. 

“I feel that it’s unfair students are having to switch teachers weeks into the school year and being forced to catch up on their own,” said senior Killian De Rego, whose English class was switched. “Luckily both my English teachers were using the same assignments so it wasn’t too hard for me.”

Some students were not as content with being transferred. “I really didn’t like that I’ve been switched this late, especially because my old Spanish teacher helped me learn a lot easier than my new one,” said senior Brian Suen.

Venice is attempting to solve this problem by hiring new teachers which will help take the load off of teachers that currently have full classes. “Class sizes have had to be smaller than they’ve been in previous years. What we have to do at this point is to switch the students into smaller classes,” said Ms. Simon Meyer.  In the past it hasn’t been an issue this late in the semester because class sizes were allowed to be bigger.

It has been a hectic first seven weeks for Venice, but the administrators are attempting to support both teachers and students in creating a better learning environment and meeting the new standards brought forth by the strike.