What Are Small Schools?

At the Small Schools Project, we define small schools as those that share a set of common characteristics:

• They are small. Few effective small schools serve more than 400 students, and many serve no more than 200 students.
• They are small. They are autonomous. The school community-whether it shares a building, administrator, or some co-curricular activities with other schools-retains primary authority to make decisions affecting the important aspects of the school.
• They are distinctive and focused rather than comprehensive. They do not try to be all things to all people.
• They are personal. Every student is known by more than one adult, and every student has an advisor/advocate who works closely with her and her family to plan a personalized program. Student-family-advisor relationships are sustained over several years.
• They are committed to equity in educational achievement by eliminating achievement gaps between groups of students while increasing the achievement levels of virtually all students.
• They use multiple forms of assessment to report on student accomplishment and to guide their efforts to improve their own school.
• They view parents as critical allies, and find significant ways to include them in the life of the school community.
• They are schools of choice for both students and teachers, except in some rural areas, and are open, without bias, to any students in a community.

There are important benefits of small schools, including student achievement, personalization, cost effectiveness, safety benefits, and others.