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: BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog

The small schools movement could lead to great things... and great debate.

The Small Schools Movement, or Small Schools Initiative, has been emerging onto to the U.S. education scene for the past few years, and as their pros and cons emerged in the national media again this week , BoardBuzz is taking the chance to see what is up with this development. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2003, joined New York City school officials in their commitment to experimenting with smaller schools as stronger learning communities for students. Board Buzz wonders where that leaves New York today, and a recent Newsweek article lets us know where one school in the Bronx is at and where critics and supporters are standing today. The Morris Academy for Collaborative Studies (MACS), led by Principal Charles Osewalt, is embracing the small high school community that focuses on academics while creating personal connections. For Osewalt and his 29 teachers and 430 students it isn't unnatural to be members of a close community where your principal will call you in the morning to make sure you show up on time...BoardBuzz has to ask, did that ever happened to you in high school? These new schools were designed to improve low achievement scores and drop-out rates with the goal of keeping students from falling through the cracks. Newsweek reports that so far they have had mixed results. Attendance and graduation rates are up, but test scores have remained about the same. Still, advocates of small schools say that getting students there is half the battle. Critics remain steadfast with their concerns of high start-up costs and fewer options with classes and extracurricular activities and their belief that size of the school is less important than the quality of the curriculum. Small school supporters hope to keep making a meaningful difference in the lives of their students and their academics, and students there seem pretty happy. MACS student, Anthony Delarosa, said, "The teachers and administrators treat you like family. They know when to hug you and when to put the hammer down." Research from our friends at the Center for Public Education confirms that size makes a difference when trying to keep students in school and on track toward graduation. Indeed, according to the Center, the adult-student relationships nurtured in small high schools plus a rigorous curriculum are the keys to effective drop out prevention. BoardBuzz is curious to hear what you think. Can these smaller schools lead to higher student achievement? Be sure to check out the extended article at Newsweek.com to learn more about why some are finding smaller learning communities beneficial and how others don't see them as long-term solutions.

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on June 03, 2008 (boomark / email).