(Mpls) Star-Tribune editorial re small schools

[Joe Nathan <UMJoe@AOL.COM>]

  Editorial: Smaller schools -- Report highlights benefits 

> Published Sep 17 2001

>

> Last year, America spent an estimated $21.5 billion on new school

> construction. During the next five years, that price tag is expected to

> quadruple to nearly $85 billion for new and remodeled buildings. With that

> kind of investment on the horizon, now is a good time think about what kind

> of schools should be built.

> A University of Minnesota study released last week offers sensible 
direction.

> After studying 24 programs across the nation, the university's Center for

> School Change (CSC) concluded that smaller programs (400 students or fewer)

> can be cost-effective and do a better job with students. The report makes a

> strong case for considering school construction and remodeling in new ways.

>

> Schools of the future should be planned more often in conjunction with other

> services. They should share space with city, county or nonprofit service

> providers. If schools are thought of as community resources they can easily

> be co located with libraries, health clinics, recreation centers, colleges

> and preschool or seniors programs.

> Take, for example, the Northfield Community Resource Center, one of the CSC

> case studies. Opened last year, the center is a partnership between the 
city,

> schools district, county and several nonprofits. It serves seniors, Head

> Start pre-schoolers, families and about 110 teens and young adults in an

> alternative public school. The cooperative arrangements encourage

> relationships between generations, and allows them to share the use and cost

> of facilities and equipment.

>

> A similar arrangement in Phoenix pairs a charter high school with a 
community

> college. Students there can take college courses and share classrooms, labs,

> computers and libraries. Some districts, including Minneapolis and St. Paul,

> are reorganizing larger high schools into more manageable, smaller

> "schools-within-schools."

> In addition to being cost-efficient, learning improves in more intimate

> programs. When students get to know teachers and feel connected to their

> communities, test scores and graduation rates go up and discipline programs

> go down. Families, students and teachers also report greater satisfaction

> with their educational experience.

>

> During the past several decades, the trend has been to create mega schools

> both to house swelling populations and offer more courses and activities. 
Now

> with growing numbers of kids feeling isolated, experience has taught that

> bigger isn't always better. As school boards move to serve more students and

> replace aging classrooms, they should create smaller, more student-friendly

> learning environments.

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