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11/30/2007 8:45 PM
The Smaller the Better Whether by reducing the overall size of schools or by shrinking class size within larger school settings, educators want to create intimate learning communities where teachers and students can develop personal relationships that foster individualized education and accountability. Studies show that students in smaller schools are more motivated, have higher attendance rates, feel safer, and graduate and attend college in higher numbers. St. Paul Open School English teacher Leo Bickelhaupt '90 endorses the concept of smaller learning communities. For a public school, Open School is small--approximately 400 students in grades K-12. Students call teachers by their first names. Report cards replace traditional letter grades with narrative evaluations in which teachers discuss a student's ability to write a news lead or analyze how Brave New World relates to real life. Each student chooses an adviser, who acts as both homeroom teacher and guidance counselor and has a say in the student's curriculum choices. "Students don't feel anonymous here," says Bickelhaupt. "We consider our students carefully and on an individual basis, and we think about what they need both academically and emotionally to succeed." Nathan, who helped start and worked for seven years at the St. Paul Open School, points to considerable evidence that shows that among similar groups of students (comparing urban-urban, suburban- suburban, rural-rural), most students do better in smaller schools.Larger schools--which may offer more amenities, extracurricular activities, and diversity than smaller schools--are fostering intimacy by creating schools within schools. The students at Crosswinds East Metro Arts and Science School in Woodbury, Minnesota, a year-round public school that follows the academically challenging international baccalaureate (IB) program for sixth through tenth grade, are divided into six "houses" that share a gym, auditorium, and cafeteria. The approximately 50 tenth-graders take core curriculum courses with the same four teachers. Crosswinds drama teacher Tinne Rosenmeier '83 thinks the small-school structure nurtures relationships between students and teachers, which in turn allow teachers to push their students to challenge themselves academically--a key factor when it comes to the rigor of the IB curriculum. "Our students are incredibly focused," she says. Click here for the full article
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| Open School 90 Western Ave. S., St. Paul, MN 55102 phone 651-293-8670 / fax 651-293-5308 Nurturing self-directed learners for more than 35 years | ||||||||||||||||||
