JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Overcrowding and safety concerns are what a group of Holiday Hill PRIDE program paraprofessionals are continuing to speak out about.

The PRIDE program is for students with emotional or behavioral disabilities within Duval County public schools.

Some of the educators are in their first year, while other have been there for decades. While they tell First Coast News they enjoy working with their students, it’s become hard for them to do their jobs each day. 

“We’re doing the students a disservice to put so many kids in a classroom,” said Amanda Hutto, a Holiday Hill PRIDE paraprofessional.

“It’s not fair,” Wanda Bonner, who’s in her 18th year with the program, said. “It’s not fair to us and it’s not fair to the kids.”

Amanda Hutto has been with the school’s PRIDE program for 14 years, but said in the last couple of years the paraprofessionals have noticed a teacher position taken away, which she believes has directly resulted in classroom overcrowding.

“We were told by the district that we were not going to be provided another 2nd grade teacher and we needed to rearrange classes around,” said Hutto.

Hutto said their program usually has eight classes, but they’re now down to six classes with 60 students.

With the program designed to be a low student to teacher ratio, with one teacher for seven or eight students. But these teachers are concerned that some classes are now up to 14 or more students.

“It is difficult to meet those needs of the students, meet them where they’re at emotionally, socially and academically when there are just so many,” she said.

These paraprofessionals tell First Coast News that these students all have IEPs, individual education plans and a big class size makes it harder to focus on these students.

According to tenured teacher, Wanda Bonner, too many students in one class has also created a safety risk.

“We get abused and hurt every day,” Bonner said. “Ms. Skipper had a concussion, I had injections in my elbow, Ms. huddle had a bad leg, Ms. Gurston goes home every day with bites on her hand, we get spit on.”

As these paraprofessionals continue the second half of the 2024-2025 school year at Holiday Hill, they’re pleading with the district for something to be done.

“We feel we’re not getting the support that we need,” said Jennifer Seeney, another Holiday Hill paraprofessional. 

First Coast News reached out to the district about overcrowding and safety risks in the Holiday Hill PRIDE program.

The district said: “We are looking into your inquiries and will follow up with you.”

School board member Cindy Pearson is expected to meet with the school’s program this Friday.