Researchers add that higher percentages of students in small schools get involved in activities than their large-school counterparts. Kathleen Cotton, a researcher at the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory in Portland, has spent years immersed in small-schools research. The laboratory is one of several regional think tanks that recently received federal grants to provide information and technical assistance to schools that want to downsize. The new recipients of Gates grants, which include high schools of fewer than 200 and as many as 2,500 students, are ready to give it a go. His 1,300-student school will use the Gates grant money to reconfigure into five smaller, autonomous schools focusing on different subjects, such as arts and humanities, applied science and technology, and international business.
Small schools are the way to go.
The school did not have enough students on free- and reduced lunch to meet Gates grant criteria, Ellis said. Even without the grant, Ellis said, the staff is planning how to subdivide Marysville-Pilchuck into 10 smaller schools or academies by fall. I think it's because the anonymity is not there. Effective teachers, clear goals, community support and strong leadership are also critical, researchers say. Cost is often cited as a hurdle.