Hee is one of 75 new teachers being hired statewide this school year to reduce class sizes in kindergarten through second grade, one of the first results of an education-reform plan approved by the state Legislature.

The state Department of Education has chosen the schools that will get new teachers this school year based on projected enrollment, which could change when the final count is done in September. A list prepared by the DOE shows that schools on every island will get extra teachers. Most of the schools will get only one or two new teachers, although a few, such as Hale'iwa Elementary School and Hanalei Elementary School on Kaua'i, should get three new teachers.

The DOE will try to keep class sizes in the early grades to no more than 25 students, and the $2.1 million the Legislature will provide annually for new teachers will be targeted to smaller schools. Larger schools have had more flexibility in absorbing enrollment growth by spreading students among several classes, but smaller schools have often been left with overflowing classrooms.

"That was just unacceptable," said Claudia Chun, assistant superintendent at the DOE's Office of Human Resources.

The new teachers, however, will not immediately end crowding in the lower grades at all elementary schools, and some students are likely to attend classes that exceed the recommendations.

Educators have embraced lower class sizes, particularly in the early grades, as one strategy to raise student achievement. The ideal class size is about 15 to 20 students.

An Advertiser poll last spring found that people rate smaller classes and new textbooks as much more important to schools than the governance changes that have dominated the political debate between Democratic legislators and Gov. Linda Lingle.

Mary Anne Raywid, an educator at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, said teachers in larger classes often spend a lot of time worrying about control and management. Smaller classes, she said, give teachers more flexibility.

"Any time you can reduce the ratio of students to teachers it matters," said Raywid, who is also an advocate of smaller schools and schools-within-schools.

The DOE has also held some of the new teacher positions in reserve at the complex and district levels to meet any unexpected enrollment spurts. Overall, the DOE is expected to hire about 1,500 new teachers this school year, but the exact number will not be known until the enrollment picture is clear.

State Rep. Roy Takumi, D-36th (Pearl City, Palisades), chairman of the House Education Committee, said the intent of the reform law is to limit class sizes to 25 students in the early grades and he expects the DOE to either meet the goal or come back to the Legislature to ask for more money if $2.1 million a year is not enough.

Schools get money today based on enrollment, a pattern that could start to change in the 2006-07 school year when the DOE converts to a new student spending formula that will link money to student need. School administrators may have more discretion under the formula to decide whether they want more teachers or whether money would be better used for something else.

For now, principals appreciate the help.

Cynthia Sunahara, the principal at Pu'uhale, has been able to hire Hee and a first-grade teacher and hopes the school might qualify for another teacher as more parents register their children for school. She said smaller classes are important at schools like hers, where many students have not attended preschool and need more intensive help in kindergarten.

"This way, teachers can spend more time with the kids," she said. "You can tailor your lessons to different levels."

At Kapolei Elementary, which is on four different calendars to deal with mounting enrollment, principal Michael Miyamura brought in a new kindergarten teacher and second-grade teacher through the reform plan. The school does not have space to give the teachers their own classrooms, but they are at work.

"We're creative," Miyamura said. "We'll figure out how to use them. This will lessen the load on our other teachers."

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.