RESEARCH & SMALL SCHOOLS
Susan Hollins, January 2007

Most New Hampshire adults appreciate their local store and coffee shop. There’s a sense of belonging and comfort we develop from the familiar folks in our communities.

It’s no surprise, then, that research supports “small” schools. Many students (25-30%) need that feeling of belonging and connection found in smaller schools. “Small” is often the factor that helps certain students thrive. As schools & school systems steadily increased in the 20th century, the percent of successful students and overall achievement steadily decreased. Our state and country are weakened from youth underachievement.

Previously disengaged students thrive in small charter schools they choose. Even high-performing students express more comfort advancing in small charter schools. Why? Because these new charter schools are small. They are independent and autonomous from large school systems. They are goal focused, capable of individualizing, and...small. And these schools attract students and parents who desire and need features of a smaller setting. It’s almost that simple.

Researchers say small schools have big advantages: higher attendance, fewer dropouts, fewer course failures, increased sense of personal safety, far fewer incidents of violence and drug abuse, higher achievement, higher graduation rates, higher achievement of poor students, easier time individualizing and adapting to meet goals, and increased student, parent, and community satisfaction. All resulting from one key feature--small.

Towns are pushed into larger schools by school facility requirements, e.g. large land parcels for school buildings, limited incentives to remodel, and required large spaces. Facility requirements force smaller schools out of town centers. Towns are also pushed into larger schools by 20th century requirements to regionalize and bond towns together whether they want to share children and taxes or not. The bigger the regionalized school systems become, the less the smaller participating communities can enjoy their small advantages. Witness the Town of Surry (population 700) whose prized village elementary school was closed by virtue of having only 1 vote on a large multi-town school board (the board disregarded the town’s plea to keep their village school open for its children).

Hidden costs of large systems do not necessarily make them cost effective. For every student who does not thrive and then needs remedial services, cost can be 50% more per year per pupil, year after year. Special education can be 20% of a district budget but in the small, more individualized schools, often less specialization is required. Management and transportation costs of larger systems are also significant. For each drop-out—a future community member’s lifetime earnings are reduced by 50%--this surely hurts communities with large at-risk populations.

We need small school options. The first four charter schools (approved in 2003)--small, goal-oriented, and thriving—cannot be allowed to close next year because small grants to fund them are not approved (while school funding is addressed statewide). These small, choice schools are ever so important within the state. Our goals should include knowing our money spent assures that the greatest number of students thrives. Adding programs in big systems is not the same as creating the small schools students need. If we sincerely want fewer drop-outs we need to encourage small, choice schools…all over.

An initiative to create more small schools only awaits our understanding that resources can be redistributed. A percent of students and a percent of funding can be deployed for this purpose in every district. Businesses and families re-prioritize and re-distribute their available assets all the time. Furthermore, multiple economic arguments exist for turning an existing community building into a small school.

Hundreds of thousands of New Hampshire’s adults treasure small settings. It’s why we live here. Let’s acknowledge that many students also thrive in small settings and create incentives for more small, goal-oriented choice schools.

S.Hollins is the founder/Director of the NH Charter School Resource Center, the NH Center for School Reform, and S. Hollins Associates. Raised in a community of 354 people and graduating in a class of 30, she provides technical assistance in areas of choice, small schools.