This overview examines recent research and thinking about school size and bases discussion on two key assumptions: good schools can differ widely in size, and there is no such thing as "optimal" school size. Rather, the "right" size for a school depends on local conditions and contexts. School size means more than total student enrollment. Grade…

Inspired by the gains in student achievement realized by the small schools movement in New York City, the Oakland Unified School District (California) has proposed creating a network of 10 new, small autonomous (NSA) schools over the next 3 years. School size will range between 250 and 500 students, depending on grade level. "Autonomous"…

Three themes of change in school planning are the future school, outsourcing, and the reconstruction of existing facilities to accommodate technological and philosophical potential. Describes the technology and the house concept at a middle school and renovations at an elementary school. (MLF)

Project Cuatro Casas was an Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title VII-funded project in its first year in 1993-94. The project operated at one high school in the Bronx (New York) and served 1,074 students of limited English proficiency. Participating students received instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL); native language arts;…

Project Achieve was designed to improve the attendance and academic performance of at-risk students. In 1993-94, the program was in the first year of its second 3-year cycle, and operated in 34 New York City public high schools. The program has focused on restructuring the standard grouping of grades into "houses," small units that offer…

As part of a multi-phase, multi-method study of the House Plan at Cypress College in California, this study investigated faculty association patterns, assuming that faculty greatly impact campus life, and the general campus milieu. In April 1976, a random sample of 100 full-time faculty, stratified along division lines, were sent survey…

A study investigated how motivational, curricular, and instructional needs of at-risk students were accommodated by an alternative school program located and organized within a conventional high school in northern Louisiana. Data were gathered through documents; classroom observations; and interviews with students, teachers, and the administrator…

High schools need new kinds of spaces to accommodate the many different ways students will work in the future. Floor plans show a 1,600-student high school that organizes students as a large school, a house, an academy, a small family, studios for 5 students, and, finally, individual study spaces. (MLF)

In this article, the author discusses small learning communities (SLCs), a term that is used to refer to the practice of organizing secondary schools into smaller units. Features of SLCs include small structure, curricular specialization and choice, a focus on the learner and learning, and, in particular, the active and collaborative nature of…

The School Within-A-School (SWS) Project was initiated during the 1970-71 school year with the Waimanalo School seventh graders who have now completed their second year with the project as eighth graders. The major goals of the SWS program rested on the assumption that students in Waimanalo have particular needs created by limited experimential…

In September, 1969, a radically innovative program for middle school children was undertaken at Theodore Roosevelt Junior High School, one of eight junior high schools in School District 4J, Eugene, Oregon. Because the Roosevelt program is one that goes far beyond the usual idea of innovation, it is anticipated that this program description will…

Although it deals with both years of the program, this report is primarily concerned with the second year of Project ORDER. The program's objectives were to improve the general school atmosphere, including teacher, student, and parent attitudes toward the school; to show continued significant improvement in pupil behavior; and to substantially…

Downsizing schools--creating small schools, schools-within-schools, and small learning communities--has been a highly favored school reform strategy of recent years, one that is supported by considerable research. Yet for many of these schools, the going has not been easy, bedeviled by bureaucratic resistance, public misunderstanding, and…

In 1993, New York City tried a different way of changing failing schools. A large failing high school was closed, and in its place were created four small high schools, a small elementary school, an infant and toddler program, a day care center for children of adolescent parents, and a medical clinic. Over a period of 3 or 4 years the building was…

Educators in intentionally small schools in Chicago are working to create a climate that is inviting, engaging, and challenging to some of the most academically disadvantaged students. Over a period of 18 months, data were collected from eight intentionally small schools that included elementary, middle, and high schools; freestanding schools;…