The last three first graders at Swan River School this year have been moved to other classrooms after their class size continued to dwindle during the fall semester.  

Principal Josh Lee said while their class sizes differ from year to year, the first grade started with just seven students. Students continued to leave the district, which left the class with just three children.  

He said when he started in his position in July, staff felt “confident and comfortable with the situation.”  

“But as that class started to become smaller, we just started looking at the class dynamics and things that we had going on and our resources. We really intensified some of our conversations and started talking about what that classroom was going to look like moving forward,” Lee told the Bigfork Eagle.  

Lee made the recommendation to the school board at its Nov. 11 meeting to combine the three students into either kindergarten or second grade, depending on which grade would be best for the individual student. The students will continue learning first-grade curriculum regardless.  

“We wanted to get those kids in classrooms that not only would allow them to thrive academically, but give them useful opportunities and classroom dynamics that are a little bit more feasible, in terms of getting some of those interactions in different classes,” Lee said.  

This recommendation came after meetings with teachers and staff to discuss options, he said. Ahead of their school board meeting, Lee reached out and explained the situation to the first grader’s parents. He also set up an open house for all kindergarten, first grade and second grade students, where parents or guardians could come ask questions about the potential move.  

At the Nov. 11 school board meeting, Lee said first-graders already combine with other classrooms for extracurriculars like music and P.E. He said making the move soon would be beneficial. 

“I think what you look at is another month of them not being in the same classroom they’ll continue to be in for the rest of the school year,” Lee said.  

He also responded to concerns about the first-grade teacher at the board meeting, following public comment from a parent who questioned the teacher’s qualifications and asked why the class size has continued to get smaller. 

“I cannot speak highly enough of the job of our first-grade teacher has done this year. Any first-year teacher is going to have growing pains, they’ll learn more in two months of teaching than in their entire career as they take over a classroom,” Lee said. “Our senior staff continues to step up and provide opportunities for learning and growth for that teacher, who will continue to do good work despite any decision that’s made tonight.”  

Lee later told the Bigfork Eagle the former first-grade teacher will continue to work with students at Swan River School in a different role. 

Though there was some debate about tabling the matter, Trustee Linda Stewart suggested making the decision at that meeting. She said if the best option was combining them into other classes, waiting wouldn’t benefit the students.  

Board trustees ultimately decided to vote on the motion to take the principal’s recommendation, which passed four to one.  

Though Swan River School is a small, rural district, the number of students per classroom is rarely as low as seven. Lee said that he’s recently seen smaller class sizes for first grade across the area in general.  

He doesn’t believe there was an overarching issue with the class, adding that the students who left the district this year did so for various reasons, including moving. 

Lee said the district has not decided how to approach the small class next year. 

“As we get into the spring and look at staffing and all of those things, those are all decisions that we're going to make,” he said. “But right now, we're focused on the present and making sure that we're giving every kid in our building the opportunities that they need.”  

Taylor Inman may be reached at 758-4440 or [email protected].