A sizable sacrifice
Smaller schools more effective, but more costly

By Nancy Mitchell
Times-Union staff writer

In the $8.3 million elementary school opening next month in East Arlington, Duval County School Board members believe they're getting the best bang for their construction buck.

They're not so sure they're getting the best school for Jacksonville's children.

Abess Road Elementary sits on 20 acres of land, occupies 120,500 square feet and, at capacity, will house 1,030 students.

It is twice the size most education researchers, including the Ohio-based consultants SchoolMatch, recommend to foster learning in children.

''Large elementaries do not provide the sense of community that's important for children,'' said SchoolMatch executive consultant M. Donald Thomas. ''Children get lost in large schools.''

Abess Road is just one example. In the next seven years, five more elementaries, four middle schools and a high school are slated to open in Duval County - all but one are far larger than national research indicates is best for student attitudes toward school, behavior in class, participation in activities, attendance and graduation rates.

Some studies even tie smaller school size to better student achievement, particularly for minorities or children from low-income families.

Interim Superintendent Donald Van Fleet readily admits he thinks the schools being built are too large. So do most School Board members, who decide school sizes.

But they point to insufficient money for facility needs, coupled with already crowded schools in some neighborhoods and hundreds of portable classrooms scattered throughout the county.

And don't forget the extra 2,000 students who move into Duval County public schools each year.

''I think all of us would prefer smaller schools,'' said School Board member Cheryl Donelan. ''In this day and age, we don't have that luxury. The dollars are very limited and we've got to use them the best way that we can.''

Suggested sizes

SchoolMatch, hired in March by The Florida Times-Union to evaluate Duval County public schools, recommended the school system set school sizes at 400 to 500 students for elementaries, 600 to 800 for middle schools and 1,200 to 1,500 for high schools.

''Wonderful,'' Van Fleet said. ''Now, how are we going to get there?''

Only 16 of Jacksonville's 138 traditional public schools now fit within those ranges. Most are far larger.

Duval County School Board members last year approved their facilities list, which establishes school size guidelines for new construction. Their picks for optimum size: 1,030 for elementaries, 1,750 for middle schools and 2,100 for high schools.

The only exception now on the list is a performing arts middle school, expected to be built downtown, for 850 students.

''I'm in the public record many times as speaking against these big schools,'' said School Board member Stan Jordan. ''But we're in one of those situations where we don't have many choices.''

School Board Chairwoman Gwen Gibson doesn't recall much discussion at board meetings about the issue of the best school size for learning.

''The focus is cost,'' Gibson said. ''It shouldn't be that way, but let's deal with the reality of how schools have been operating for years.''

It simply costs less to build and operate one larger school vs. two small ones, Van Fleet said. Among other savings, there's one land purchase, one set of utility bills, one principal's salary.

''We know the schools we're building are too big,'' he said. ''The reason is dollars.''

SchoolMatch's Thomas, a former school superintendent and educational adviser to three governors, said his suggested sizes are in line with what's being advocated by national school reform experts.

''The main difference between large and small schools is the idea of personalization, with smaller schools forming a community where teachers, parents and students get to know each other better,'' Thomas said.

''Even if small schools have no effect on academics, they generally have fewer discipline problems, fewer dropouts, fewer fights between teachers and students.''

A 1996 report funded by the U.S. Department of Education summarized 103 school size studies and supported elementary schools of 300 to 400 students and secondary schools of 400 to 800 students. Its conclusions on smaller schools:

Academic achievement is at least equal to larger schools, and minority and poor students are most positively affected.

Students participate in more extracurricular activities and feel a greater sense of belonging.

Student social behavior is better, including fewer problems with truancy, discipline and gang participation.

Student attendance is better and fewer students drop out.

Mixed feelings

Several Duval County principals, teachers and parents said they welcome the idea of smaller schools, but with some caution.

Horror stories about large schools are now common - 50 buses pulling into 2,200-student Landmark Middle School each morning and afternoon, lunchtime that begins two hours after school starts at Alimacani Elementary so that all 1,500 students can be fed.

But in Florida, education dollars follow the student - so smaller schools equal smaller school budgets. That can mean fewer classes and services for students.

Vivian Walker, just retired as principal from Norwood Elementary, said she knew every child by name at her school. At 217 students, it was the county's smallest last year.

''With children, I think, if they feel known and wanted, it helps the self-esteem,'' she said. ''It helps them learn.''

But a smaller school budget meant Norwood students didn't get music and gym classes until last year, when the school system kicked in supplemental dollars.

Walker still prefers smaller schools: ''You just have to prioritize your monies and get the things that are most important.''

Contrast that with Alimacani Elementary, among the largest grade schools in Jacksonville. Parent Debbie Philipp-Edmonds said the school, with as many as 10 teachers per grade level, can appear overwhelming.

But the resources available to her two sons are ''top-notch,'' she said, including on-site speech therapists and art, music and gym teachers.

''My children cope with the size very well,'' Philipp-Edmonds said. ''They're delighted with the resources at their finger tips and so am I.''

Norwood's operating budget from the school system last year was $951,500, plus an extra $435,900 for various federal programs largely based on students' family income. Alimacani's budget was $4.7 million, plus $17,500 in federal dollars.

New teacher Glenn Adwell joined the staff of the county's largest school, Sandalwood High School, in December. He likes that there are 18 other math teachers.

''I teach consumer mathematics and there are four different teachers teaching that,'' Adwell said. ''If I had a problem, there are four people I could go to who are a resource for me.''

But Sandalwood student Becky Rafidi, 17, was less positive about being in a school projected to reach 2,950 this fall. There's a diverse student body and plenty of electives, she said. But also, there are crowded hallways, constantly new faces and not enough personal attention.

''I don't feel like the teachers are giving each student enough attention,'' Rafidi said. ''The classes are always big and they can't always give their attention to just one student.''

Sometimes big is just too big, said Dalton Epting, who retired last month from Mandarin High. The school had more than 2,100 students each of the seven years he was principal.

''We managed but it creates problems,'' Epting said. ''You can't get your student body all together anywhere, your hallways are terribly crowded, and your campus gets very spread out when you have to provide classrooms for that many students.''

High school students still need that sense of family, he said, and that vanishes as a school's enrollment climbs.

''I noticed I could name fewer and fewer students as the school got bigger because there were just so many you had to deal with,'' he said.

A large school poses other problems.

Nita McKelvey, former PTA president at 1,300-student Loretto Elementary and 2,100-student Mandarin Middle, said it was difficult, and expensive, to communicate news to all parents.

Angie Walters, whose children attended 1,700-student Sabal Palm Elementary and are now at Landmark Middle, said it's harder for them to participate in extracurricular activities.

''In a mega-school, there are still only seven class officers, only so many safety patrol, only so many basketball team members,'' she said. ''The child has less chance to be somebody or to be a leader.''

Some principals had developed their own ideas about the best school size.

Epting wanted 1,600 to 1,800 students in a high school. Less than that meant not enough money for a variety of classes and resources, he said. More was too big.

Landmark Principal Helene Kirkpatrick favored a middle school of 1,000 to 1,200 for similar reasons. Caroline Rademacher, principal at Loretto Elementary, liked 800 for an elementary.

Finding solutions

Florida legislators are expected to meet in a special session this fall to address education issues, including funding for construction. Duval County school officials hope the result will be more money.

In the meantime, SchoolMatch has recommended using ''school within a school'' programs to create the feel of smaller schools in large buildings. Such programs typically involve isolating a group of students within a school in their own academic program, with their own teachers and even a separate principal.

Those programs already exist to some extent in the magnet programs of Duval County schools. In Andrew Jackson's medical magnet, for example, the students take many of their classes together in a separate part of the high school.

In addition, middle schools operate on ''house'' programs, where students are separated into smaller groups and stay with a team of teachers throughout the year.

That helps at overcrowded Mandarin Middle, where each grade is broken down into five teams of about 150 kids and four teachers.

''They become a close-knit family among themselves,'' said Principal Walter Carr.

Carr said he's not sure school size affects students. He is certain, however, that overcrowding is detrimental for students, teachers and administrators.

''The important thing is the facility handles the number of students who are there,'' he said. ''If we could ever reach that point, we'd be in great shape.''

A larger school size also does not necessarily mean larger classes, Carr said. Each principal decides priorities.

San Mateo Elementary parent Vicki Drake remembers the debate one year over whether the school of 700 students should keep art, music and gym teachers or hire more classroom teachers to keep class sizes down.

''It's a trade-off,'' said Drake, who is also Duval County PTA president.

Van Fleet, and other school officials, are quick to point out that several large Duval County schools post top academic scores. Alimacani's basic skills tests score are among the county's best. Mandarin High students score high on college entrance exams.

''School size is just part of it,'' Van Fleet said. ''We are doing everything we can to make them successful schools.''

Other researchers said school officials need to rethink how they figure school costs.

Thomas Gregory, an Indiana University education professor writing a book about school size, said studies that consider cost per high school graduate find small high schools are as cost-effective as larger schools.

And that's something school boards and superintendents need to keep in mind, said Craig Howley, director of the Educational Resources Information Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools.

''Everyone thinks the larger the school, the lower the unit costs,'' Howley said.

''That might make sense if what you're doing is purchasing lots of pencils. But as soon as you see the business of school is to produce achievement and to procure learning, the whole economic basis of schooling changes.''