The traditional elementary schools in Lancaster are set up to teach about 400 students each. Red Whiddon and the bond advisors from Gallagher Construction propose to make the new standard size for our elementary schools about 600 kids each.

According to The American School Board Journal :

Today, 25 percent of U.S. secondary schools enroll more than 1,000 students. Many researchers say that the appropriate size for an elementary school is from 300 to 400 students and that the enrollment of a secondary school should not exceed 800. … Small schools, on average, have fewer discipline problems, better student attendance rates, and fewer dropouts than large schools. Students who attend small schools have a greater sense of belonging than those who attend large schools; they are more likely to bond with their teachers and peers; and they more readily identify with their schools.

Terrence Stutz, writing in the Dallas Morning News, reported that:

Lower-income students in Texas and three other states have done better academically in smaller schools than in larger ones…The study conducted by education researchers at Ohio University and Marshall University found that school size is a significant factor in achievement levels for children from lower-income families. For Texas, the researchers looked at scores on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills to learn how much school size affected results. Test scores were analyzed from 6,288 schools in 960 districts - most districts in the state. "Many schools serving lower- and moderate-income communities in Texas are too large to achieve top student performance on the TAAS," the report concluded.

Full details here.

It makes more sense to rehabilitate the old schools to serve at the 300-400 student per school standard that they were designed for, and that researchers agree is the optimum size for a school. Kids in the tree-lined heart of our community can hike the less-than-two-miles along our shaded side walks and natural paths to the historic old buildings. And new schools serving new neighborhoods should also be small, located in the heart of the community, and accessible by walking.