Neal Wilkins Early Learning Center in Platteville now has six first-grade classes.

Samantha Charles, a UW–Platteville graduate, began working at Neal Wilkins Monday. Her hiring was approved by the Platteville School Board Monday night.

Twenty first-grade students were moved from the classes in which they started the year into Charles’ new class.

The decision was made because of a combination of more students in first grade than was projected and academic requirements for first-graders, particularly in math and reading. The school district had projected 22 students per first-grade class, but got 24 instead.

Platteville Public Schools superintendent Connie Valenza said the transition “went very smoothly.”

The additional class section drops the average first-grade classroom size from 24 to 20.