(Sources say yes.)

I have always gone to small—and even smaller—schools. My third-grade class graduated with just five people, including me. While the schools I’ve attended since then have been larger, they are still far below average in terms of population. Though I am completely happy with this environment, I can’t help but wonder: by attending such a small school, am I missing out on certain opportunities or communities?

Mendocino, where I attend school, is a rather homogenous group of chaps. One must wonder whether this affects access to self-expression or more specialized communities. With the lack of diversity offered in a small school, will I feel swallowed up by the ambiguity of a larger environment? Or is a small school a miracle cure for the education system, creating utopias of rich, close-knit communities of well-educated individuals?

Many educators believe small schools might indeed hold the answer. For instance, Deborah Meier and Ted Sizer (two leaders in educational reform) were strong advocates for smaller schools. Sizer, in particular, emphasized the importance of relationships between students and teachers—one of his Ten Common Principles. He founded the Essential Schools movement, which later became the Coalition of Essential Schools. This group focused on creating classrooms where the depth of education, often stifled by large class sizes, could flourish. He advocated for small schools with fewer students per teacher.

This movement sparked further efforts, including a Gates Foundation initiative to fund the creation of high-quality small schools and transform larger schools into networks of smaller, high-performing ones. The goal was to make public schools in low-income areas resemble private schools. Sizer argued at the National Education Summit, “If we keep the system as it is, millions of children will never get a chance to fulfill their promise because of their zip code, their skin color, or the income of their parents.” He believed smaller schools would lead to better graduation rates.

However, the push for small schools faced challenges. Deborah Meier, who founded several schools and was a passionate advocate for small schools, expressed concerns about the Gates Foundation’s focus. She felt the initiative concentrated on initial success without ensuring the long-term sustainability of these schools. These concerns were not misplaced. Supporting students in small schools often costs more per child than in larger schools, and results were not as impressive as originally anticipated. This contributed to the Gates Foundation cutting funding for the initiative in 2010.

Small schools, while promising, are not a solution for systemic issues like racial discrimination in low-income areas. They are not a fix-all. With limited budgets, small schools can suffer from the same challenges as larger ones. For example, they often have fewer specialized teachers, with many filling multiple roles. This leads to the same problems Ted Sizer originally criticized: overworked teachers who lack the time to form deep connections with their students.

To better understand this, I reached out to some of my own teachers who have experienced both large and small schools. When I asked them about the environment and culture of Mendocino compared to their previous schools, their answers reflected unique perspectives.

Pam Duncan, our beloved history teacher, said:"I think the biggest difference here is the sense of community. People here have personal relationships with their teachers, and I think that’s rare. When I taught at a bigger school, I did have connections with students, but it was rare. You know, you have one or two students you really connect with, but here, I think every single student has a positive connection with some adult on campus. That’s really unique."

Similarly, Sam Stump, our charismatic English teacher, shared:"I would much rather have the challenge of really knowing my students than teaching a student for one year and never seeing them again. That would probably be the case at a larger school. I really like our laid-back environment here in Mendo and the close-knit feel."

From these interviews, I’ve come to believe that the sense of community in small schools is incomparable to that of larger ones. As Sam Stump put it, “I wanted to be at a smaller school where I could get to know my students better and make more of a difference.”

However, there are disadvantages to smaller schools, such as the lack of opportunities. When I asked Ms. Duncan about extracurricular activities, she replied:"That’s the advantage of a big school. Students have way more options. At a small school, we do have a lot of options, like our CTE classes, but at a big school, you’d have things like Model UN, mock trial, wrestling, and more arts programs. There are so many teams and clubs we don’t have here. Another downside of a small school is that people don’t always find their group. In a big school, you might have more people to connect with."

On the topic of diversity, Sam Stump noted:"The community here isn’t as diverse as some of us would like. My previous school, Pierce High, had about 450 students and was much more diverse than Mendocino. About 60–70% of the students there were Latino, and 30–40% were white. There was also more religious diversity and more niche communities within the larger school community. I think students had more chances to learn about different cultures there. I wish we had more of that here in Mendocino."

The lack of diversity and extracurriculars can be isolating for certain individuals. A homogenous school community may be comforting, but it limits the chance to learn about different lifestyles. For students who don’t fit into the dominant culture, it leaves them without a place of refuge.

From what I’ve seen, the size of a school greatly affects students. While small schools and large schools may be academically similar, smaller schools tend to have higher graduation rates. However, the greatest difference is in the community. Smaller schools foster close student-teacher relationships and a sense of belonging, but larger schools provide more opportunities to interact with diverse people and form specialized communities.

In conclusion, size does matter.