Discusses the criticism of building large, community-isolated K-12 schools and provides examples of how today's architects and school districts are cooperating to replace these schools with smaller, more community-friendly ones. (GR)

Educational reformers are divided among high-standards Martians, back-to-basics Venusians, character educationists, and free-market trade experts. Meanwhile, no one discusses how to motivate bored, disrespectful students. The solution involves working to establish high academic standards without blame or standardization, to develop "merit…

A teacher intern discusses her experiences in Bendick Murrell Public School in rural New South Wales, and the benefits of attending a small school. The school's own initiatives include literacy targeting, an extensive music education program, an Indonesian language program, extended sporting opportunities, public speaking and debating, computer…

Reviews selected research on the benefits of student involvement in extracurricular activities, especially in small schools. (PKP)

The Executive Director, Education, for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, describes several shortcomings of large comprehensive high schools. Argues that small schools, be they public, private, or charter, offer a viable alternative to the problems of large schools if they have right essentials such as strong leadership and autonomy.…

Examines the provision of two small government schools in Australia's Northern Territory in response to the aboriginal movement from central Australia to their homeland in the outer territories. A profile of the community is provided and the learning center development are discussed. (GR)

A former student reminisces about attending the Organic School in Fairhope, Alabama, in the 1950s. Founded in 1903, the school pioneered child-centered education; had multigraded classes; incorporated dance, pottery, weaving, and art into the curriculum; and was guided generally by the philosophy that education is not preparation for life, but…

This article discusses high schools and reform. During the past two decades, school reformers have sighed when speaking of change in secondary schools, saying they were the hardest--and would be the last--nutshell they would seek to crack in making significant improvements in the education of young people. Efforts in secondary schools would need…

This paper proceeds from the basis that leadership can only be understood in context and by viewing it from the inside. In particular, it argues that the contextual complexity of small school leadership warrants attention from researchers, policy makers and system administrators and describes the nature of this complexity as depicted in the…

While current research shows that comprehensive high schools remain the norm, effective small-scale high schools feature lower student-to-teacher ratios, longer instructional blocks, more parent involvement, and increased advisory and student support. The resulting instructional benefits include reduced dropout rates, increased attendance, higher…

Good teachers were shying away from accepting 4th-grade positions because of the growing accountability pressures that were being unfairly brought to bear on that grade level. Highly publicized reports of the state's new battery of standardized assessments were scaring off applicants. To address the personnel needs while more fairly sharing the…

The Kingdom Come School in Linefork is now a public school, but it began its life in 1924 as part of the settlement school movement that was all the rage at the beginning of the twentieth century. The school was founded by Hiram Frakes, a methodist minister who wanted to create a community that valued education, and promoted opportunities for its…

This article describes a case study of an educational organization, the Big Picture Company, trying to implement a highly unusual school design. It offers a close look at its professional development strategies and how its comprehensive program helps create a culture where teachers can, and do, learn. I detail five professional development…

Teacher retention is a persistent issue in school improvement. While it is true that some degree of teacher turnover in schools is both healthy and inevitable, the exodus of large numbers of teachers over time diminishes the capacity of a school to serve its students and creates new problems related to recruiting and inducting new teachers. States…

The policies and practices of small college counseling centers have been neglected in the literature at a time when campus mental health services are under scrutiny. A national sample of 181 small campus counseling center directors responded to the Iowa Counseling Center Survey-Revised. Their responses were compared with information about large…