The United States

Once a school is gone, it changes the fabric of the community and city forever.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the United States, where the closure and merger of schools was followed by lower academic achievement, increased school violence and a growing disconnect between school and community. These negative outcomes are consistent and well documented in hundreds of locations where mergers occurred (Cotton 2001, 1-4; Bailey 2000 1-5; Schmidt, Murray and Nguyen 2007, 60; Wasley and Lear 2001, 22).

As a result, school districts across the U.S. today face significant challenges as they struggle to recreate the pattern of smaller neighbourhood schools of the past. Chicago has targeted the development of high schools of no more than 500 students, and elementary schools of no more than 350 (Chicago Public Schools 2007). New York is in the midst of a process of breaking up its large high schools into schools of 300-600 students. These are just two examples of the neighbourhood school revival.

The fruits are clear: already New York’s 47 converted schools register significantly higher graduation rates than the city’s larger schools (Pytel 2006). But the challenges are many. One of the first barriers is the permanent loss of former schools buildings, replaced by condos and strip malls. Districts like Chicago and Portland face the prospect of rebuilding. In New York, administrators have been forced to build ‘schools within schools,’ literally dividing up the former mega-school buildings (Pytel 2006). The results are mixed, falling short of the ideal of neighbourhood schools. Other districts face the challenge of convincing school administrators to give up their large-scale domains (Cotton 2001, 48). In all cases, turning back the clock is a highly difficult task that doubtless leaves many school administrators and taxpayers wishing they had never created larger schools in the first place.

Ontario's School Renewal Plan

Putting students first

Ontario has come up with a province-wide school renewal plan that puts students and communities first. The plan – called Good Places to Learn: Renewing Ontario’s Schools – advocates a major investment in repairing and maintaining schools, rather than closing them.

In 2003 the Education Ministry asked school boards to place a moratorium on closures and conduct reviews of their facility needs. The review found that schools were in poor repair, that funding formulae favoured closures instead of repairs, and that capital costs and needs were driving school closures instead of the best interests of students.

"There have been a record number of closures over the past several years but the current guidelines for school closing do not meet all of the obligations that boards and the province have to students, the community and the overall system," the province concluded. 

If you think this sounds like the current situation in Saskatchewan, you are right. The difference is, the Ontario government responded to facility needs not by accelerating school closures, but by setting out a plan and dollars to invest in school renovation and retrofitting. The province anticipates some 4,500 jobs will be generated as a result. As well, the renewal plan views excess space from declining enrolment as an opportunity, not a weakness. Empty spaces will be used to move to smaller classes in lower grades, and to introduce on-site early learning and childcare programs.

These are the kind of program changes RealRenewal has been advocating for the past two years. The Ontario plan shows us that our ideas can become reality.

Michigan

Hard Lessons: Causes and Consequences of Michigan's School Construction Boom.
http://www.mlui.org/downloads/hardlessons.pdf
McClelland, Mac; Schneider, Keith
(Michigan Land Use Institute, Beulah, MI , 2004)
This provides a detailed review of how school construction decisions — whether to renovate existing buildings or build new, greenfield facilities — are made in Michigan and their effect on development patterns. The report aims to help school officials, community leaders, homeowners, and parents evaluate the full cost of new school construction or renovation. It recommends changes in state policy that, if implemented, will capture the economic and cultural benefits of renovating older schools or building new ones in town. 20p.

Manitoba

Manitoba parents are elated that school closures plans in Manitoba will be halted by new legislation. The Strengthening Local Schools Act received royal assent Friday. “It is a shock to everyone. It is the beginning - it provides for a brighter and hopeful future for our children, our small local community schools, and their neighbourhoods,” said Manitoba parent Victoria Schindle. Schindle is chair of the Argyle Community Action Group, a group that encourages boards and governments to develop alternative ideas to school closures.

Full Story

Press Release: Manitoba halts closures while Sask steams ahead. 

Ontario

No school should be merged or closed without very serious research into the long term implications. In some other jurisdictions, this is a matter of legislation. Ontario’s Education Act, for example allows a full review of the impacts before a school is closed. The Education Ministry’s Pupil Accommodation Review Guidelines state:

…school boards are required to develop a generic School Valuation Framework that assesses each of the following four consideration about the school(s) being reviewed:·

Value to the student·

Value to the community

Value to the school board

Value to the local economy

(Ontario Ministry of Education 2006)

The guidelines further state: “The assessment is to weigh the value of the school(s) to the student above the other considerations” (Ontario Ministry of Education 2006). The valuation markers cover a wide variety socio-economic of factors, ranging from student academic outcomes to the school’s provision of open space within a community.

A joint board-community Accommodation Review Committee is tasked with overseeing the assessment, ensuring full public access to all related documents, and inviting public input. Of note, the Committee’s guidelines include a requirement of 60 days’ notice before public meetings commence, to ensure the public has adequate time to review the documents and prepare responses.

Saskatchewan does not offer such legislative protection of the rights of students and communities faced with major changes to their schools. Although the Board is not bound by legislation to carry out a full valuation of schools, we urge the Trustees to nonetheless demand a very high standard of targeted investigation before any school is closed.

 

REFERENCES

 

Baily, Jon. The Case for Small Schools. Wathill, NE: Centre for Rural Affairs. January 2000.

Chicago Public Schools. “Small Schools: Building Designs.” http://smallschools.cps.k12.il.us/buildings.html (accessed Jan. 14, 2008).

Cotton, Kathleen. New Small Learning Communities: Findings from Recent Literature. Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. Dec. 2001. http://www3.scasd.org/small_schools/nlsc.pdf (accessed Jan. 14, 2008).

Ontario. Ministry of Education. Pupil Accommodation Review Guidelines. Oct. 31, 2006.

Pytel, Barbara. “NYC Small Schools Improve: Skeptics Have Been Proven Wrong.” http://educationalissues.suite101.com/article.cfm/nyc_small_schools_improve (accessed Jan. 14, 2008).

Schmidt, Michele, et. al. “Cohesive Communities, Improved Outcomes: A Case for Small Schools.” Education Canada. 47:4 Fall 2007, 59-62.

Wasley, Patricia A. and Richard J. Lear. “Small Schools, Real Gains.” Educational Leadership. Assoc. for Supervision and Curriculum Development. 58:6. March 2001. 22-27.