The Benefits of a Small School
Small schools offer numerous advantages over large schools. While many high schools in metropolitan areas feature enrollments of 1,500 students or more, parents across the country are increasingly seeking high schools with small enrollments, that is, enrollments of 500 students, or fewer. This is because a growing body of research is demonstrating the advantages of a small school learning environment.
Small schools typically offer a safer learning environment than larger schools; they also offer greater likelihood of student integration and collaboration, while offering teachers a more edifying experience.
Education is dependent upon trusting, secure relationships between teachers, students, parents and members of the community. Small schools offer everyone a better opportunity to come to know each other and develop these beneficial bonds. In a large school environment, students tend to drift into cliques of students who share the same special interests or backgrounds. In a smaller population, students are more likely to integrate, regardless of personal interests or background, simply because there are fewer options for peer interaction.
Furthermore, students in small schools are more likely to possess a strong sense of school spirit. In an environment where there are fewer students to be leaders in clubs, teams and organizations, a larger percentage of those students get an opportunity to serve in leadership roles. In a small school, situations sometimes arise where literally everyone in the school needs to participate in order for the event to be conducted. This gives students a greater sense of importance and purpose than they typically would experience in a larger school, where they can be made to feel that their involvement is not necessary. This sense of being needed, of importance and purpose, contributes to a sense of school pride and diminishes the potential for discipline problems.
This is true on the parent level as well. In a large school environment it is too easy for parents to leave volunteer demands to “the other guy” because there is always a sense that someone else will take care of it. In a small school, parents know that if they don’t get involved there may not be an adult to help coach a sport, or direct the play, or raise money for a class trip. Nothing builds relationships like working together on a project. Parents with students at small schools benefit from relationships formed in this manner.
Smaller schools generally offer greater flexibility in scheduling. Field trips, guest speakers and special events can be accommodated easier in a small school environment. Furthermore, administrators in a small school are likely to have more time to spend in the classrooms and hallways – where the students are – rather than in their own offices.
Individual students and teachers who are suffering problems generally can get resolution sooner in a small school. Issues are likely to be identified sooner in a small school environment and once a problem is identified it is likely to be handled more quickly. There are fewer distractions and potential sources of trouble for administrators and faculty in a small school so when a problem is identified it can be addressed more quickly.
The Chicago High School Redesign Initiative opened 23 small high schools between 2002 and 2007. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation poured several million dollars into the initiative. Much can be learned from this experience. While the research conducted around the Chicago schools do not show significant differences in academic achievement between students in the smaller schools compared to students in larger schools, they found that students in the smaller schools were much more likely to stay in school, and much more likely to graduate from high school. (1)
Other studies have shown that small school environments are much safer than large schools, with fewer reported fights between students, and fewer incidents of violence and vandalism. (2)
Schools typically have not grown larger because someone thought high enrollment would be beneficial for students and teachers. Growth is generally the result of efforts to achieve economies of scale and efficiencies which promise less stress on school district budgets. Also, some have argued that larger schools offer more opportunity to students from less-privileged families and neighborhoods. Research does not prove conclusively that large schools offer more cost-effective education delivery, nor that less-privileged students typically achieve greater academic results in large schools.
Big schools, of course, can offer more courses and more extracurricular activities than small schools. Proportionately, however, a larger percentage of the student body at a small school is likely to participate in extracurricular activities than at a large school. While there may be more options at a large school, typically more students choose to sit on the sidelines at a large school, leaving spots on the various sports teams to the students who already have demonstrated a high level of skill in those areas. Students seeking to develop skills find they cannot compete in large school extracurricular sports and therefore choose not to participate. At a small school, those students generally get a chance to participate.
One author noted: “students who participate in activities and feel connected at school have higher achievement, are less likely to drop out; they have higher self-esteem, attend school more regularly, and have fewer behavior problems. (3)
Small schools have a leaner administrative structure, which means the whole faculty shares in decision-making; decision-making is less institutionalized and more flexible. This fact explains why teachers and students in small schools report feeling a greater sense of efficacy—they really have a say. This is also a wonderful teaching example for the students, who are subtly being shown the benefits of a collaborative working arrangement. (4)
Small schools typically offer a safer learning environment than larger schools; they also offer greater likelihood of student integration and collaboration, while offering teachers a more edifying experience.
Education is dependent upon trusting, secure relationships between teachers, students, parents and members of the community. Small schools offer everyone a better opportunity to come to know each other and develop these beneficial bonds. In a large school environment, students tend to drift into cliques of students who share the same special interests or backgrounds. In a smaller population, students are more likely to integrate, regardless of personal interests or background, simply because there are fewer options for peer interaction.
Furthermore, students in small schools are more likely to possess a strong sense of school spirit. In an environment where there are fewer students to be leaders in clubs, teams and organizations, a larger percentage of those students get an opportunity to serve in leadership roles. In a small school, situations sometimes arise where literally everyone in the school needs to participate in order for the event to be conducted. This gives students a greater sense of importance and purpose than they typically would experience in a larger school, where they can be made to feel that their involvement is not necessary. This sense of being needed, of importance and purpose, contributes to a sense of school pride and diminishes the potential for discipline problems.
This is true on the parent level as well. In a large school environment it is too easy for parents to leave volunteer demands to “the other guy” because there is always a sense that someone else will take care of it. In a small school, parents know that if they don’t get involved there may not be an adult to help coach a sport, or direct the play, or raise money for a class trip. Nothing builds relationships like working together on a project. Parents with students at small schools benefit from relationships formed in this manner.
Smaller schools generally offer greater flexibility in scheduling. Field trips, guest speakers and special events can be accommodated easier in a small school environment. Furthermore, administrators in a small school are likely to have more time to spend in the classrooms and hallways – where the students are – rather than in their own offices.
Individual students and teachers who are suffering problems generally can get resolution sooner in a small school. Issues are likely to be identified sooner in a small school environment and once a problem is identified it is likely to be handled more quickly. There are fewer distractions and potential sources of trouble for administrators and faculty in a small school so when a problem is identified it can be addressed more quickly.
The Chicago High School Redesign Initiative opened 23 small high schools between 2002 and 2007. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation poured several million dollars into the initiative. Much can be learned from this experience. While the research conducted around the Chicago schools do not show significant differences in academic achievement between students in the smaller schools compared to students in larger schools, they found that students in the smaller schools were much more likely to stay in school, and much more likely to graduate from high school. (1)
Other studies have shown that small school environments are much safer than large schools, with fewer reported fights between students, and fewer incidents of violence and vandalism. (2)
Schools typically have not grown larger because someone thought high enrollment would be beneficial for students and teachers. Growth is generally the result of efforts to achieve economies of scale and efficiencies which promise less stress on school district budgets. Also, some have argued that larger schools offer more opportunity to students from less-privileged families and neighborhoods. Research does not prove conclusively that large schools offer more cost-effective education delivery, nor that less-privileged students typically achieve greater academic results in large schools.
Big schools, of course, can offer more courses and more extracurricular activities than small schools. Proportionately, however, a larger percentage of the student body at a small school is likely to participate in extracurricular activities than at a large school. While there may be more options at a large school, typically more students choose to sit on the sidelines at a large school, leaving spots on the various sports teams to the students who already have demonstrated a high level of skill in those areas. Students seeking to develop skills find they cannot compete in large school extracurricular sports and therefore choose not to participate. At a small school, those students generally get a chance to participate.
One author noted: “students who participate in activities and feel connected at school have higher achievement, are less likely to drop out; they have higher self-esteem, attend school more regularly, and have fewer behavior problems. (3)
Small schools have a leaner administrative structure, which means the whole faculty shares in decision-making; decision-making is less institutionalized and more flexible. This fact explains why teachers and students in small schools report feeling a greater sense of efficacy—they really have a say. This is also a wonderful teaching example for the students, who are subtly being shown the benefits of a collaborative working arrangement. (4)
(1) https://ccsr.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/publications/CCSR_CHSRI_Report-Final%5B1%5D.pdf
(2) http://www.communityworksinstitute.org/cwjonline/essays/a_essaystext/grauer_smallschools2.html
(3) Ibid
(4) Ibid
Additional Resources:
https://ccsr.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/publications/CCSR_CHSRI_Report-Final%5B1%5D.pdf
http://futureofchildren.org/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=30&articleid=50§ionid=190
(2) http://www.communityworksinstitute.org/cwjonline/essays/a_essaystext/grauer_smallschools2.html
(3) Ibid
(4) Ibid
Additional Resources:
https://ccsr.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/publications/CCSR_CHSRI_Report-Final%5B1%5D.pdf
http://futureofchildren.org/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=30&articleid=50§ionid=190