Without question, education is a critical component of a livable community. The deterioration of many schools in older parts of our communities is often cited as one of the principal reasons for families to move to the suburbs. At the same time, over the past decades schools have grown in size and have lost their role as community centers. A review of research on school size undertaken for the New Rules Project in Washington, DC, reveals that small schools are better and safer.
Students perform better in small schools.
Kids in small schools have higher attendance rates and are more likely to graduate. Significantly, the impact of poverty on school performance is significantly reduced when kids attend small schools. The bigger the school, the more likely poor students are to fail. School security experts in 1999 were asked by the U.S. Department of Education for suggestions in how to reduce crime and violence in the nation's schools. Rather than gun control or police on the premises, the experts argued for reducing the size of the nation's schools.