The Flip Side of Consolidation.
In a previous post I talked about the situation in Illinois where there seems to be redundant and bloated bureaucracy as a result of the large number of independent school districts, including multiple districts in the same town. Consolidating these school districts seems like common sense.
But West Virgina is an example of where consolidation has meant the consolidation of schools. In West Virginia's case, small town schools have disappeared, replaced by schools miles away from home. Elsewhere, small rural schools have been consolidated into huge centralized ones. This creates a whole new set of problems as described in a recent Teacher Magazine article.
Teacher Magazine reports, "Webster County High was built in 1974, after the county’s population fell nearly 30 percent in just a decade, to 9,800 people, where it remains today. Webster High has roughly 490 students, nearly two-thirds of whom receive free or reduced-price lunches. But it looks much like a suburban school, nothing about it suggesting poverty. While there are few frills, the library is attractive and well-appointed and the building clean. The achievements of the fine arts department and band are particular points of pride.
"But as at other consolidated schools across West Virginia, Webster kids are often unable to join athletic teams or other extracurriculars because of difficulty getting home after games or activities on nights and weekends. Parent involvement is also often lacking. Monica, for example, has been shut out of nearly all extracurricular activities. She had to give up band midway through 9th grade because, after traveling to football games or music competitions held out of the county, she wouldn’t get back to Hacker Valley until anywhere from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., and then her parents would have to drive down the mountain to fetch her. The school offers late buses leaving at 6 and 7:30 p.m., but they only go as far as Hacker Valley School, and the Shaffers, both of whom are medically disabled and live on a fixed income, can’t afford the 20-mile round trip to pick up Monica in their 14-year-old gas-guzzling truck. Getting to the high school for parent functions would cost $20, she says, so they almost never do."
Read the entire story.
But West Virgina is an example of where consolidation has meant the consolidation of schools. In West Virginia's case, small town schools have disappeared, replaced by schools miles away from home. Elsewhere, small rural schools have been consolidated into huge centralized ones. This creates a whole new set of problems as described in a recent Teacher Magazine article.
Teacher Magazine reports, "Webster County High was built in 1974, after the county’s population fell nearly 30 percent in just a decade, to 9,800 people, where it remains today. Webster High has roughly 490 students, nearly two-thirds of whom receive free or reduced-price lunches. But it looks much like a suburban school, nothing about it suggesting poverty. While there are few frills, the library is attractive and well-appointed and the building clean. The achievements of the fine arts department and band are particular points of pride.
"But as at other consolidated schools across West Virginia, Webster kids are often unable to join athletic teams or other extracurriculars because of difficulty getting home after games or activities on nights and weekends. Parent involvement is also often lacking. Monica, for example, has been shut out of nearly all extracurricular activities. She had to give up band midway through 9th grade because, after traveling to football games or music competitions held out of the county, she wouldn’t get back to Hacker Valley until anywhere from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., and then her parents would have to drive down the mountain to fetch her. The school offers late buses leaving at 6 and 7:30 p.m., but they only go as far as Hacker Valley School, and the Shaffers, both of whom are medically disabled and live on a fixed income, can’t afford the 20-mile round trip to pick up Monica in their 14-year-old gas-guzzling truck. Getting to the high school for parent functions would cost $20, she says, so they almost never do."
Read the entire story.
posted by Fred Klonsky at 1/12/2006
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