Dol
lars & Sense: The Cost Effectiveness of Smal l Schools
Below is the
Conclusion found at the end of the report – “Dollars and Sense: The Cost
Effectiveness of Small Schools”
Please read
the conclusion of this report as it exemplifies how important a small school is
to the education of children. Schools, such as Prescott School, are to be
treasured according to the report.
Note:. At
times the conclusion mentions the building of smaller schools. In the case of Prescott
School and others, the small school is already built!
Conclusion
"Many people know intuitively that small schools work best
for children and teachers, but now there is research to prove it.
Unfortunately, many communities have already lost their good, small schools
because they could not argue successfully against educators and policy-makers
determined to implement “economies of scale” through consolidation. Now, it is
clear that there are significant diseconomies in large facilities, and that
they do not create the best schools in which to nurture or educate children. It
is important to preserve good small schools, limit school size, and reconfigure
narrow-span large schools to achieve smaller schools within schools. Best of
all, this report indicates that creating facilities for small schools can be
done cost effectively, and that in Creating facilities for small schools can be
done cost effectively, and . . . in fact, the cost of large schools is higher considering
their negative outcomes. fact, the cost of large schools is higher considering
their negative outcomes. Large schools are expensive to individuals, their
communities, and the nation because there are many hidden costs. Most obvious
are expenses such as increased transportation, higher administrative overhead,
and expenditures for maintenance and security. Other costs of large schools are
more subtle: lower graduation rates, higher dropout rates, high rates of
violence and vandalism, higher absenteeism, and lower teacher satisfaction. Loss
of a school has enormous social and financial impacts on a community, and
consolidating schools and districts even erodes participation in democracy; but
perhaps most expensive are the costs to society of the consequences of large
schools: higher crime rates, increased cost of incarceration, more violence in
schools, more families receiving public assistance, and the large number of
students whose talents are not fully realized. The goal of this work has been
and will continue to be to offer credible analyses that compare the true costs
associated with mega-schools with those of smaller schools. Four specific
conclusions emerge from this initial phase of work: 1. Communities should
treasure their small schools and policy-makers should protect these schools
with sound policies and financial support. State legislators and other
decision-makers should implement policy that limits the number of students in a
facility to the range suggested in this paper, as well as revise acreage
requirements, limitations on renovation, and outdated codes and regulations
that promote construction of large schools. 2. Districts should reconfigure
large facilities serving narrow grade spans into schools with the widest
possible grade span in order to create smaller schools within existing
facilities. In addition, students and members of the community should make full
use of existing facilities for functions and during time periods that extend
beyond the activities and hours of traditional schools. 3. The second phase of
this work must draw from a more representative base, not just from schools
submitted to design competitions for further research and should examine the
costs of maintaining and operating schools of different sizes. The analysis
must also seek to understand the differences in costs between smaller and
larger schools. 4. The second phase should include an integrated and
comprehensive guide for the planning, design, and maintenance of facilities for
small schools to demonstrate ways in which districts can control costs when
building, renovating, and operating good small schools. Dollars & Sense demonstrates that small
schools offer the best place to create environments in which students,
teachers, families, and members of the community can teach and learn
effectively. Furthermore, this report challenges the notion that small
schools are excessively expensive by showing that facilities for small schools
can be built cost effectively. The message is clear: when thinking about schools and school
facilities, think small."
CONCLUSION ABOVE IS ON
PAGE 21 OF “DOLLARS AND SENSE, THE COST EFFECTIVENESS OF SMALL SCHOOLS” REPORT
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