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Learning Theory and Concepts

Small Schools Movement

Instructional Design and Curriculum Frameworks

The small schools movement, also called the Small Schools Initiative, holds that many American high schools are too large and should be reorganized into smaller, autonomous schools of no more than about 400 students, and optimally under 200, so that students feel more connected to peers with similar interests and receive more individual attention from teachers. Many small schools are created by splitting a struggling large school into several smaller ones within the same building, as happened at the former Theodore Roosevelt High School in the Bronx. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Core Claim
Many high schools are too large and should be reorganized into smaller, autonomous schools of no more than 400 students, and optimally under 200. 2
Classification
Education Level
Upper Secondary Education (ISCED 3) 1
FAQs

Why do supporters of the small schools movement say a small school works better?

Deborah Meier argues that a small school makes shared, democratic decision-making among teachers practical.

Deborah Meier has argued that a small school lets all of the teachers sit around a single table and build a culture of shared decision-making. She holds that this matters for a school meant to teach children to become powerful members of a democracy, because students should see their teachers acting democratically, and that face-to-face democracy is much more likely and practical in a small school.
Sources
1. Small schools movement (Wikipedia)
Description, education-level classification
Quote, Description, education-level classification
The small schools movement, also called the Small Schools Initiative, holds that many American high schools are too large and should be reorganized into smaller, autonomous schools of no more than about 400 students, and optimally under 200, so that students feel more connected to peers with similar interests and receive more individual attention from teachers.
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2. Small schools movement (Wikipedia)
Lead paragraph
Quote, Lead paragraph
many high schools are too large and should be reorganized into smaller, autonomous schools of no more than 400 students, and optimally under 200.
View the Source
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