Re: School Size (Was High School)

["William K. Medlin" <dev-plan@moscow.com>]

Thanks, Ron, for doing my research check for me! In a previous post, 
I mentioned just what your search turned up, in answer, I believe, to 
Travis Todd. I do believe a similar analogy could be drawn in regard 
to community size: Large urban aggregations may enhance efficiencies 
in some ways. but they increase other costs, both social and 
economic, which were unpredicted by urban planners. We end up 
spending huge amounts for safety, security, costly infrastructures, 
etc. not occasioned by smaller, more self-regulated entities. Just 
prison costs alone are driving county and state budgets crazy. As for 
educational enrichment, both district consolidations and now Internet 
resources provide expanded services benefiting all the students. 
Thanks again!

>You can review the research on school size on the "Ask ERIC" Web site
>
>http://www.askeric.org/cgi-bin/print.cgi/Resources/Educational_Management/Educational_Facilities/School_Size.html
>
>Here's a qoute from one of the reviews:
>
>"...This consolidation, achieved at the cost of anguished protests by
>thousands of citizens served by small schools in small districts, was
>viewed by most professional educators as a triumph for enlightened
>schooling. Larger schools created economies of scale that drove
>per-student costs down, and at the same time gave students expanded
>access to specialized courses, adequate libraries, and extensive
>extracurricular programs.
>
>Ironically, just as the consolidation movement was basking in its
>achievement, research was beginning to suggest that the public's
>nostalgia for small schools was not misplaced. In the past three
>decades, steadily mounting evidence indicates that children and
>adolescents do best in schools with well under 1,000 students, with some
>critics arguing that even 200 may be too many.
>
>The new research suggests that small schools are more likely to nurture
>a sense of belonging and community, engaging active student involvement
>through a positive, humane, and caring atmosphere. Even the supposed
>economies of scale for large schools are being reexamined; some analysts
>have suggested that computing the cost per graduate rather than the cost
>per student gives an economic advantage to small schools..."
>--
>Ron  Force                                                 
>rforce@moscow.com
>Moscow, Idaho U.S.A.