For Janet Edlund, principal of Dakota Prairie, distance is the main issue. Dakota Prairie is a consolidation of Aneta, McVille, Tolna, Unity and Michigan which spans 908.9 square miles. Yet, she said transportation leads to an equal access for education in rural areas. Rita Kelley, principal of Century High School, has only attended and taught at large schools. She said there can be both advantages and disadvantages to a large enrollment.
Competition also increases with the number of students in the school.
But with a larger enrollment, opportunities also increase. Kelley said Century offers 155 different courses, has 22 sports and 36 clubs. And the choice of public versus private, and rural versus urban, can be difficult. But the panel didn't argue which type of school was better for students. Rather, it came to a consensus that the student is the one who determines his or her future success.