Professional educators may be behind the times in their thinking about school size. Many educational leaders mistakenly believe that large schools provide better learning environments at less cost than smaller schools. Actually, there are few conclusive before-and-after consolidation studies, consolidation does not seem to save money, and small…

Based on what is happening in school districts today, seven critical issues will dictate the educational facility of the future: (1) school size; (2) pupil-teacher ratios; (3) clientele served; (4) programs offered; (5) technology; (6) school choice; and (7) funding. (15 references) (MLF)

The extent of truancy, dropout, and grade repetition in 36 Dutch secondary schools was correlated with contextual variables such as school size, class size, and percentage of non-Dutch pupils. Multiple regression showed that numbers of non-Dutch pupils and average class size were of importance regarding the extent of truancy. (SK)

Reviews DeYoung's book, which depicts the social life of a small rural school and its community, and the particular social, political, and economic circumstances that led to the school's closure. Suggests that the book contains much useful material for those facing a consolidation battle, but that it omits important "instrumental"…

Reviews the impact of local-management-of-schools funding formulae on schools of different size. Examines the ways that over 80 local education authorities (LEAs) have defined formulae to protect their small schools and reports the effect of the change to formula funding from 27 LEAs to describe the pattern of "winning" and…

Discusses the impact of day care center size on quality of care and center management. Large centers can be more resilient but can also be susceptible to mediocrity. Small centers may be safer, but less flexible. The ability of administrators to match interests with duties will vary with center size. (SH)

Highly visible roster of villains--people who have retarded or damaged public education--would encourage those in power to exercise more perspicacity. Top baddies are Congress (for lobbying for curative instead of preventive programs), Lewis Terman (for advocating tracking), James Bryant Conant (for advising high schools to become larger). All…

Presents examples of school capacity assessment worksheets. Worksheets provide areas for listing classroom numbers, size, and capacity figures for all grades. The high school worksheet, unlike the other grades, breaks out classroom figures by specific room function. (GR)

Exploring cognitive school leadership elements, this study uses a set of 1200 U.S. principals and employs an earlier validated set of five leadership cognitions drawn from psychologists in educational administration. Regression analysis suggests these cognitions exist independently of many social and personal qualities typifying principals and are…

Compares responses on self-report inventories of coping resources and self-esteem between samples of students attending a small private college and a large state university. Differences were found in physical and spiritual/philosophical types of coping resources as well as social self-esteem. Includes suggestions for further research in this area…

A recent study found that local teacher salaries in North Carolina are related to cost-of-living measures. After accounting for education and experience characteristics, local teacher salaries are higher in districts having a greater proportion of secondary teachers, larger school sizes, and a greater demand for education. (Contains 20…

Describes how a vertical teaching team established a school-within-a-school for grades 1 to 4 at Narcoossee Community School in St. Cloud, Florida. Includes planning, space allocation, curriculum content, and across-grade coordination. Describes benefits to teachers and students. (PKP)

Describes how several small schools have collaborated with the community and shared facilities, such as a former church, a former carriage factory, a medical complex, and a community college. Some of these small schools use social-service agency staff, others create schools-within-schools, and still others become charter schools. (PKP)

For those who would like to see Ron Wolk's vision of schools realized, the challenge of scaling up is the most daunting one faced. Skeptics like to say, "Oh well, that 'X' and 'Y' did something really special is irrelevant; they're exceptions." But the author's experience suggests that today's exceptions can become tomorrow's norms. If that is to…

This study represents the first attempt to assess the impact of the school consolidation movement on the quality of students' education during the period of greatest consolidation, from 1930 to 1970. Using data from the 1980 U.S. Census, the author looked at one million white males born between 1920 and 1949 to see how characteristics of the…