A recent study from the Northwest Regional Laboratory in Portland, Oregon, shows that small schools are superior to large ones on almost every measure. Kathleen Cotton, author of the report, looked at more than 100 research studies concerning the relationship between school size and different aspects of schooling. When small schools are not superior to large ones, they are just as good. This was found to be true for both elementary and secondary schools and it was true for students of all ability groups. Teachers in small schools are more likely to form teaching teams, integrate their subject matter, and employ multi-age grouping and cooperative learning.
Small schools have fewer incidents of negative behavior.
The advantages of a quality neighborhood school are not limited to the students and their parents. Knowing this, it's easy to understand why homeowners without children also stand to loose when schools are closed through the devaluation of their homes. Many of these homeowners are retired people who have counted on income from the sale of their homes to take care of their needs should they become unable to care for themselves. Elementary schools range in enrollment from 133 to 443 with an average enrollment of 267. Two of the elementary schools have fewer than 200 students, but neither of these schools has a full time principal.