Recession Leads To Low Staff-To-Student Ratio For Many Districts.

The New York Times (12/22, Rich, Subscription Publication) reports that districts that laid off teachers and other employees during the recession are now facing “unwieldy class sizes and a lack of specialists” for special-needs students. The article relates anecdotes of overworked teachers and counselors, noting that according to Department of Labor data, schools across the country “employ about 250,000 fewer people than before the recession.” The Times reports that these challenges come as “schools are raising academic standards and business leaders are pushing schools to prepare a work force with better skills.”