my first grader's recess times at school have usually 100 kids (4 1st grade classes and 1 2nd grade class) with 1 teacher supervising them all. I have discussed with the the principal and was told that he lets the teacher on duty to decide if she needs help. According to him, all 5 teachers say they each can handle this 100 to 1 ratio fine. So far this year, there have been 11 injuries from falling, 3 incidences of bullying that resulted in bloody noses, etc. I have contacted our PTA president for direction (I offered to create a parent volunteer group on my own so PTA would not have to supply volunteers) and she said "we dont have enough volunteers for other PTA projects and PTA does not want to assume any liability."

I made the same volunteer offer to the principal and he said that the parent on duty would/could be liable.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to handle this or any websites/articles that helps me build a stronger case as to why a more adequate level of supervision should be created?

Thanks in advance,
Jeff D
jeffreydavis@columbus.rr.com

I may be mistaken but I believe there is some research done about playground supervision. One of the reasons that our kids are only out for 15 minutes is because with the amount of kids, at a certain age, past a certain amount of time... the incident of injuries rises drastically. I do not know where to begin to look but I bet there are recommendations out there.

I would look into the policy at your school board, look into other schools and their procedures/policies.

I know our elementaries have paid parents to supervise in both the playground and lunchrooms. They are hired by the board of education.