Will Parents and Teachers Get on the Bandwagon to Reduce School Size?

Abstract

Small-school reformers believe that they have an idea that will improve student learning, enhance school discipline, increase parent involvement, and catch more children who might otherwise be They have a powerful case to make, Ms. Johnson says, and they need to do just that - make it. THINKING ABOUT education has undergone a seismic shift since 1959, when James Conant called small regional high schools of the serious obstacles to good secondary education throughout the United States.1 Today, leading educators point to an impressive series of academic studies suggesting that students actually flourish both intellectually and personally in schools. With research in hand, a vibrant and influential smaller is movement has emerged in education. Small-school reformers believe that reducing the size of high schools can start a domino effect that will be of benefit to teens and their families nationwide. In smaller, more intimate settings, these reformers argue, both students and teachers will be more motivated, students will get more immediate and more personal feedback, discipline will improve, communication will be better, and far fewer youngsters will slip through the cracks. But like any change that directly affects the daily experiences of millions of teachers and students, this one would be difficult to impose by fiat. Changes of this magnitude typically require broad support from community leaders and citizens at large. So how are typical parents and teachers likely to react to proposals to reduce the size of high schools in their own districts? The following questions and answers offer some guidance for leaders considering the option of schools in their communities. The information is based on new Public Agenda surveys of 920 public high school teachers and 801 parents with children currently enrolled in public high schools. Do parents and teachers believe that small high schools are better or worse than larger ones? Public Agenda asked parents and teachers about their views on how well large and small high schools typically perform in more than a dozen different areas. Smaller high schools outscored larger ones in almost all categories. Majorities of both teachers and parents said they believe that high schools generally offer classes, a stronger sense of belonging, more personal attention from teachers, lower dropout rates, and better parent involvement. (See Table 1.) Significantly, large majorities of teachers and parents said that high schools would be especially advantageous for students in large urban districts or for students with behavior problems. Do parents and teachers see any advantages in larger schools? Parents and teachers did give a significant edge to larger schools in two categories: offering a wide selection of courses and having a more diverse student body. At the same time, however, both groups had fairly negative impressions of large high schools. Majorities said they believed that larger high schools are more likely to have discipline problems, and discipline is a key issue for both parents and teachers. Indeed, it would be hard to overstate the importance of the discipline issue in most communities, be they urban, suburban, or rural. Most parents and teachers also said that larger high schools are more likely to have students who are alienated or socially isolated. One of the mothers interviewed in Public Agenda focus groups conducted for this study described her decision to move her son from a larger school to a one: Bigger schools usually have more extras . . . like theater and art and band and whatever. But then, when they get too big, kids just get lost. At least 80% of parents and teachers said they believe it is easier to spot troubled students in a school. How much attention are parents and teachers paying to the movement to reduce school size? …