In a letter addressed to the Directorate-General for Staff, the School Council supports requests already submitted by the school’s management team and warns of the organizational pressure generated by high demand for school places in southern Zaragoza. Among the main problems, it points to high student-to-teacher ratios at several levels, prompting the school to request additional staffing through the so-called "frozen quota." Although the school year has already begun, they say they still have not received a definitive response.
The school’s growth, which this year reaches 4º grade of Primary Education, has also led to the opening of new classes and tutor positions. However, the School Council believes that the increase in specialist teachers has not kept pace. The school is gradually moving toward a three-form entry structure, which increases, among other needs, the demand for English teachers and other specialists.
DIFFICULTIES IN IMPLEMENTING THE BRIT PROGRAM
One of the main concerns focuses on the BRIT program. According to the letter, with the staff currently available, there is a risk that all the English hours planned for Early Childhood Education will not be taught. The school has already informed both the Education Inspectorate and those responsible for bilingual education of the situation.
The management had considered temporarily filling some Early Childhood Education positions with teachers whose profiles would also allow them to meet English-language needs, although this option could not be implemented. For this reason, the School Council is calling for the addition of a teacher with a profile in Early Childhood Education and English, enabling the program to be maintained "under the planned conditions" without reducing other resources needed for the school’s daily operation.
This request is joined by a call for more Therapeutic Pedagogy (PT) teachers to address specific educational support needs. The current situation means, they explain, that some teachers have to take on "double and even triple roles," with very tight schedules and little room to cover sick leave, permits, medical appointments or other unexpected absences. In such cases, the school could be forced to suspend support sessions or split classes in order to guarantee direct attention for the groups.
The School Council insists that this is not "a request for an ancillary improvement," but rather an adaptation of the staff to the current size of the CPI Ana María Navales. Its demands include resolving the request for the frozen quota, strengthening specialist subjects, guaranteeing the BRIT program’s hours, adding the additional PT resource and carrying out a comprehensive review of the staff that leaves sufficient room to deal with the usual incidents during the school year.
