Strapped California Districts Increasingly Combining Grade Levels

The Riverside (CA) Press Enterprise (10/1, Klampe) reports that there are "a growing number of teachers in southwest Riverside County who are teaching combination classes with students from multiple grade levels. In Temecula, the number of combination classes has doubled since last year, rising from 16 to 32." Other districts report similar increases, and "officials say after years of budget cuts, they can no longer afford the extra teachers needed to ensure that all students are in single-grade classrooms."