The Impact of School Size - Roger Erich, VirginiaTech

There is remarkable consistency among the research studies that have been reported on school size; smaller is better. To understand these findings one must appreciate the pressing need of children, especially the younger ones, for structure, social stability, and community support. It appears that smaller schools strengthen interpersonal relationships and sense of community.

Small Schools and Student Achievement - articles compiled by the Small Schools Project

The Small Schools Project provides support and assistance to K-12 schools in Washington State and nationally that have received reinvention grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Project partners:

      Coalition of Essential Schools Northwest Center

      Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

The Small Schools Workshop - Research and Resources

The Small Schools Workshop is a group of educators, organizers and researchers based in the College of Education at the University of South Florida (Sarasota) which collaborates with teachers, principals, parents, and district leaders to create new, small, innovative learning communities in public schools.

School Size, School Climate, and Student Performance - Kathleen Cotton

This review of the research compiles the findings up to 1996 on what small schools were doing. Research since has grown and continued to expand on the findings stated here. This article outlines many of the current conversations including "how small is small" and the main focuses of small school studies.

Small Schools Websites and Projects

CES Small Schools Project
www.essentialschools.org/pub/ces_docs/ssp/ssp.html
The small school project of the Coalition of Essential Schools.

El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice
www.newvisions.org/schoolsuccess/
practices/integratedcurriculum/ElPuenteBest.shtml
A description of El Puente's approach to integrated curriculum.

Julia Richmond Education Complex
www.jrec.org
Oft-cited model of successful small schools in shared facility.

New Visions for Public Schools
www.newvisions.org
Organization promoting small school reform in New York City.

The School ReDesign Network
www.schoolredesign.net/srn
Stanford University-based project led by Linda Darling-Hammond.

Small Schools Project
www.smallschoolsproject.org
Support network for schools receiving funding from the Gates Foundation.

Small Schools Workshop
www.smallschoolsworkshop.org
Founded in 1991, this is one of the oldest support networks for small school reform.

Urban Academy
www.urbanacademy.org/alternative/urbannews.html
A small school in New York City that has pioneered use of alternative assessment.