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The small schools movement, also known as the Small Schools Initiative, in the United States of America holds that many high schools are too large and should be reorganized into smaller, autonomous schools of no more than 400 students. In the Small Schools Movement, students will be given a choice of which small school they want to join. Each of the smaller schools would offer students a feeling of connectedness between students who share the same or similar interests with them. In many ways, the small schools in high schools would resemble the team system of many middle schools across the United States. Small schools allow students to have more individual attention from teachers than most average high schools. Many small schools are created by reforming a failed large school into several small ones in the same building, as is the case with the former Theodore Roosevelt High School in New York City.
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Critics argue that small schools are wasteful because they duplicate resources. They point out that large schools tend to have higher test scores and a wider diversity of course offerings, as well as more clubs, arts programs, higher performing sports teams, and other extracurricular activities such as school newspapers and social events. Some schools have abandoned the small school approach after failures to overcome these difficulties, even after being offered grants to continue these experiments.[1] The Gates Foundation, which supports and funds small schools, is beginning to change its focus to working directly on improving instruction, giving grants to improve math and science instruction, for example.[2]
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