The first day of school was finally here Wednesday for Edgerton School’s “Super Second” class team-taught by teachers Shelly Kennedy and Suzanne Elliott.

This is the second year the teachers have taught as a team. During the 2012-13 school year they combined to teach a kindergarten class at Edgerton.

Peterson School also had a second-grade team-taught class dubbed the “Mega Two” in 2012-13.

This school year, Hedges School also has a team-taught kindergarten class and last week, an additional kindergarten class was created because of growing enrollment numbers. A new teacher was hired and staff were moved in available office spaces to free up a classroom.

These team-taught classrooms have proven to be a successful, short-term strategy for tackling the growing student populations and limited building space at the kindergarten- through second-grade level in Kalispell Public Schools.

At this level, classes have to be at a maximum of 20 students to meet state accreditation standards.

Team-taught classes — although large with between 30 to 35 students — have a small student-to-teacher ratio, about 15 to 18 students per teacher.

Four new classrooms were built at both Peterson and Edgerton this year to alleviate elementary overcrowding, but the new classrooms are almost filled already. Edgerton Principal Merisa Murray said she only had about two spaces left at the fourth-grade level.

“Just think if we didn’t have these four classrooms,” Murray said, glad that the first day of school was here. “The energy is really high; everyone is excited this year. We wanted to get things rolling with the new classrooms.”

As of Wednesday, there were 387 kindergarteners enrolled, according to Superintendent Darlene Schottle. This is 51 more students than in October a year ago.

Out of 19 kindergarten classrooms throughout the district, 15 classes are hovering around 21 students each.  

Kalispell enrollment has shown no signs of slowing down for several years, increasing the possible need for a new elementary school. Schottle said the district is researching possible sites for a new elementary school in the future.

Schottle said she couldn’t pinpoint what is causing a surge in elementary enrollment.

“We hear that people may be moving and working in the area, or, coming to live with their families while dad works in the Bakken [oil] fields. There are a whole variety of things,” Schottle said.

Kennedy and Elliott said team-teaching classrooms have been a productive and positive solution for dealing with overcrowding.

“The kids get a lot of extra attention,” Elliott said.

Two sets of eyes also are beneficial in disciplinary situations.

“Any discipline problems, they were handled immediately,” Elliot said about the kindergarten class last year. “You don’t have to push and wait until the other children were occupied [to handle the situation]. She would continue teaching, and I would take them out” of the classroom.

Elliott added that sharing perspectives with a colleague is great when problem-solving or providing student support. Both said it will be hard if they have to go back to a single-teacher classroom.

“It was definitely a positive outcome,” Kennedy said citing scores from their first year team-teaching as evidence.

Outside Kennedy’s and Elliott’s second-grade classroom, fifth-grader Taylor Brisendine said goodbye to her mother, Tricia, before bounding off to her classroom. Her sister, second-grader Reagan Brisendine, hoped the summer days wouldn’t end, but seemed ready for school as she dropped her backpack on her desk and waited outside for school to start.

Tricia Brisendine said she saw two teachers, sharing different strengths, as a benefit to her daughter’s education.

“We’ve never had this experience, but I think it will be good,” Tricia Brisendine said.

The key for team-teaching a class of more than 30 students is keeping organized, providing students with structure and working with a colleague who meshes well in teaching style and philosophy.

 At the tone of the bell, Reagan Brisendine told her parents and younger siblings goodbye and headed into her first day of second grade.

Name tags were handed out before students headed to their desks where mounds of school supplies were piled.

Kennedy and Elliott started the organization process item by item.

“This is my favorite way of gluing things,” Kennedy said, holding up a glue stick.

“This is my favorite way,” Elliott said holding up a bottle of glue.

In a team-taught model, teachers may have varying teaching methods, but the goal is the same — help students achieve.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com