Now building smaller may also be the only choice for school systems in large urban areas such as Los Angeles and New York City that simply do not have large tracts of real estate available to them. There are other reasons as well that suggest that building smaller schools closer to where people actually live makes communities more livable. Children, for one, do not have to spend half their days on buses. There are parents who have never once been to their child's school because the child is bused halfway across town to relieve overcrowding. Building smaller schools also has important implications for residential growth patterns.
Good schools are an important factor in where people decide to live.
By building smaller schools close to where people live, we can encourage the development of smart growth policies that lead to better neighborhoods and more livable communities. Schools with strong leadership can also be a powerful catalyst for bringing a community together in reviving a neighborhood. One of the oldest schools in the country, Quincy High School in Boston, did just that in provide services and being culturally sensitive to the new Chinese immigrant community. I also believe that how we locate and build schools can have a great impact on suburban sprawl. Suburban and rural communities may want to seek other alternatives than that of the traditional isolated high school with the empty parking lot.