High School would have on all the students in this community. Besides resulting in having to pay overtime to school staff, it would be unconscionable to require the youngest in our system to burden the largest sacrifice. Naturally elementary students, teachers and parents have grave concerns about this. Amazingly many counties do not feel compelled to even approximate how many students from each grade level will experience negative repercussions from proposed school closures. Long Rides, Tough Hides Enduring Long School Bus Rides by Belle Zars scrutinizes the escalating problems placed on students suffering lengthy bus rides.
Small schools have indisputable benefits for student achievement, attendance and safety.
Research is showing , Affective and Social Benefits of Small-Scale Schooling but many small schools targeted for closure may be methodically stripped down to a skeleton curriculum in an attempt to discourage community support for keeping them opened . Hannan High School's 1998 LSIC Report to the Board of Education certainly reflects this method. It has served the children and community well over half a Century. Big Learning at Small Schools and The Big Benefits of Smallness reaffirms the educational value small schools can enjoy. The kind of small school that has been virtually erased from the public school system in the State of West Virginia.