PLATTEVILLE — Students in four-year-old kindergarten at Neal Wilkins Elementary School will see more teachers and fewer teaching assistants this coming school year.

The Platteville School Board voted Monday to hire two new 4K teachers, which will mean three teachers will teach the morning and afternoon 4K sessions.

District superintendent Connie Valenza said Neal Wilkins formerly had two teachers and one full-time and two part-time teaching assistants, which meant 4K classes had “25 or 26 students with an assistant.”

Hiring the third teacher will mean 4K classes will likely have between 16 and 18 students.

“Cutting the numbers down in those 4K classrooms would be more beneficial for the kids,” said Valenza.

The School Board voted to hire Juliette Schneider, the lead teacher at the UW–Platteville Children’s Center, and Denise Johnson, who works at UWP’s School of Education, as 4K teachers. The School Board also hired Monique Volkening, who formerly taught at Holy Rosary School in Darlington, as a first-grade teacher at Neal Wilkins.

With more teachers and fewer assistants, the School Board approved the transfer of Patricia Turba from a teaching assistant position at Neal Wilkins to the administrative assistant position at Westview Elementary School. The board also approved the transfer of Neal Wilkins library assistant Judith Bruun to the same position at Westview.

The School Board also hired two Platteville Middle School physical education interns — Trevor Kattre, a UW–Platteville graduate, for the first semester, and Shane Reuter, who will graduate from UWP next May, for the second semester.