The Scale of Schools

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Yet small-school proponents can poke holes in just about every bigger-is-better argument. Small schools may not offer as many classes, they argue, but their teachers generally have more flexibility to incorporate sophisticated material as well as the freedom to use innovative teaching methods such as multi-age classrooms, Mitchell notes in The Progressive Populist. And while big schools can offer deluxe sports facilities and busy extracurricular rosters, smaller schools have a higher participation rate, meaning that more students will get the leadership training and improved academic standing often associated with such activities. Parent participation, too, is higher in small schools.

The trump card played by big-school advocates is money: Small schools cost more because they don’t benefit from centralized efficiency, they say. And though it’s true that smaller schools have higher per-pupil costs, their much higher graduation rates and lower dropout rates can bring the total cost per student to less than that of big schools.

But, as Meier tells Langdon in The American Enterprise, such evidence seldom outweighs more pedestrian concerns. "When we talk with school officials and local politicians about restructuring large high schools, the first thing they worry about is what will happen to the basketball or baseball teams, the after-school program, and other sideshows," she says. "That the heart of the school, its capacity to educate, is missing seems almost beside the point."

For more information on the small-school movement, visit www.smallschools.com

Discuss the power of small schools in the Education conference in Cafe Utne: cafe.utne.com

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