Parent Research Shows Smaller is Better

AN INVESTMENT IN OUR CHILDREN

I have been waiting for some shred of concrete evidence to justify the concept that a consolidated school would better serve my children. For a while, I firmly believed that if those who supported consolidation could produce some research that indicated my children would be better off academically and socially AND it would ultimately cost me less I would have no trouble supporting the concept. Looks pretty, costs less and its better for my kids…seems like a no-brainer….

To date, all I have read about from the “Consolidation Advocates” is that a big new beautiful school would better prepare our young children for the 21st century. OK, how? Our former Superintendent of Schools claims that a big new school would enable our teachers to “collaborate” more frequently. And how might this “sharing of responsibility and ideas” benefit my children? Like every parent, there is nothing more important to me than ensuring my children receive the very best educational experience possible

Feeling like I didn’t have enough information on the “consolidated approach” to make a fair judgment, I embarked on a research effort of my own. The only thing I have succeeded in doing is to convince myself completely that I want to see our region’s elementary schools renovated. I give you the following information to support this opinion:

“The relationship between small schools and positive education outcomes has been confirmed with a clarity and at a level of confidence rare in the annals of education research”. Mary Anne Raywid of Hofstra University came to this conclusion after reviewing more than 100 studies on school size and the effects of consolidation.

In 1997 the State of Vermont conducted a study of small schools with the majority of legislators intending to close them (small being fewer than 100 students). Instead of consolidating these small schools the legislature voted to provide additional funding to cover the higher costs sighting they are “worth the investment because of the value they add to student learning and community cohesion”.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, “A higher percentage of students across all socioeconomic levels, are successful when they are part of smaller more intimate learning communities….security improves, violence decreases as does student alcohol and drug abuse”.

“For decades research has shown that children learn well and often better in a small school environment. Further, the research indicates that violence and behavior problems diminish, attendance is higher and extracurricular participation increases. “One study concluded “While impersonal bigness may actually provoke disruptive behavior, small schools conducive to trust and respect tend to defuse it. “

“Student achievement is influenced much more by caliber of instruction than by number of courses offered”. “A 1996 analysis of 103 research documents concluded that achievement in small schools is at least equal and often superior to that in large schools. No study found large-school achievement superior”

Please, don’t take my word on this. Do the research yourself. There is endless information available on the failure of consolidated schools but nothing on the success of such an effort. Will we have a “Consolidation Failure” story on our hands? Like so many others, I am tired of this debate. Region 12 faces an enormous expenditure no matter how you look at it. I don’t like to pay more for something if I don’t have to BUT when it comes to the education of our children, I refuse to be cheap. Our children are worth the investment. Just fix the schools we already have…seems like a no-brainer.

Nancy Hawley
Bridgewater

Check these Web sites for more information.

Subject: class size
http://www.wested.org/policy/pubs/full_text/pb_ft_csr23.htm

http://www.osba.org/hotopics/classize/index.htm

http://www.ed.gov/pubs/ReducingClass/Class_size.html

17 or less results -------------- The Students kids are 1 month ahead in K
-------------- They are 2 months ahead by 2nd grade

22 with one teacher ----------- The Students are behind
22 with one teacher and aid ----They are still behind

This was a controlled experiment in TN over a 4 year period

The big emphasis in the education community is to reduce class size(CSR) but not in District 12.