But they're making us consolidate to break even,'' he said. Right now in Tallahassee, legislators are considering giving private-school vouchers to students in severly overcrowded public schools. Students at seven schools in Escambia County and three schools in Santa Rosa would qualify. Benefits to both Educators and lawmakers might like small schools, but some students say they want the opportunities only a big school can offer. But Reeder does get to participate in about 10 academic organizations and plays on Jay's baseball and football teams.
Classes are generally smaller in small schools and violence tends to happen less often.
For example, there are about 30 students in the average science class at Pace High School compared to about 25 at Jay High, according to the Florida Department of Education. At Escambia High, the average social studies class has about 27 students, while Northview's has about 18. Cheree Williams remembers clearly coming from her small middle school in Panama City to Pine Forest High as a freshman. The new girl in a new town dropped into a freshman class of 500 and thought she'd never fit in. The school seemed so big.