The small schools debate

Following up on my questioning of whether the push for small schools make sense, see this web chat and article below. It's good to see that the Gates Foundation really get it:

Marie Groark, a spokeswoman for the Gates Foundation, which is underwriting improvement efforts in more than 1,600 high schools, did not disagree.

“We see really great results with our new small schools, but our existing schools have been slower to improve,” she said, referring to large existing high schools that have been restructured into small schools or learning communities.

“We do know size is not a panacea for improving high school outcomes,” Ms. Groark said. “It requires a focus on personalization, on ensuring kids won’t fall through the cracks, increasing expectations for all, and on improving instruction and curriculum so that the classroom is a lively, engaging, thought-provoking experience for kids.”

Taking a big failing school and splitting it into a bunch of smaller schools doesn't make a lot of sense, but doing what the Gates Foundation is support in NYC makes total sense: creating NEW small schools (rather than new big schools).
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LIVE CHAT: The Small Schools Debate

When: Wed., June 21, 3 p.m.

Where: http://enews.edweek.org/GoNow/a15864a149017a387543994a1

Join us for a live Web chat to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of establishing smaller schools.

Spurred by major donations from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private and public funding sources, school districts in New York City, Chicago, Houston, and other cities are replacing large high schools with smaller, more personal learning environments for students. Advocates for smaller schools argue that the more personal learning environments will lead to better student behavior, improved working conditions for teachers, and higher academic achievement.

But one recently-released study suggests that when it comes to high school size, smaller might not be better. The Michigan State University study, which was presented last month at a conference sponsored by the Washington-based Brookings Institution, raises questions about high-profile efforts taking root across the country to reshape the nation’s high schools into smaller learning environments

The chat guests--Education Week Assistant Managing Editor Caroline Hendrie and Associate Editor Debra Viadero--have been covering the school-size issue closely for years.

Join us for this informative chat:

http://www.edweek-chat.org

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Study Questions Push for Smaller High Schools

Downsizing seen as unlikely to benefit types of students targeted by reforms.

By Debra Viadero

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2006/06/07/39size.h25.html?levelId=1000

Washington

When it comes to high school size, smaller might not be better, concludes a national study by researchers from Michigan State University.

The study, which was presented May 22 at a conference sponsored by the Washington-based Brookings Institution, raises questions about high-profile efforts taking root across the country to reshape the nation’s high schools.

Spurred by major donations from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private and public funding sources, school districts in New York City, Chicago, Houston, and other cities are replacing large high schools with smaller, more personal learning environments for students.

But Barbara Schneider, the study’s lead researcher, said her data suggest those efforts are misguided.

“In an effort like this, you are dismantling large high schools and putting money into creating small high schools,” Ms. Schneider, an education professor at Michigan State University in East Lansing, said in an interview. “We can’t afford to continue down this path without serious and rigorous assessment of this thing.”