Effective size for elementary schools is 300-400 students, research shows

Wednesday, April 5, 2006

The never-ending Seven Locks Elementary School saga was recently punctuated by the county Inspector General’s report and the school board’s response.

The debate centers around, among other things, the reliance by the school system on construction cost estimates related to the options that were considered.

Somewhere in the melee the core issue of what is best for the youngest and most impressionable minds seems to have been forgotten. Surely, if the interests of our children had been foremost the analysis would have focused on optimal-size studies that would assess the effects of school size on student achievement and other measurable outcomes. The abundance of testing data on student performance within the school system no longer makes an analysis of this type a formidable hurdle.

The consensus of publicly accessible research, for example, in the form of publications by the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities, is that the effective size for elementary schools is 300 to 400 students. Building schools that serve as effective educational centers, promote a sense of community ownership, belonging and optimize student achievement should be the goal of any responsible community and educational system.

Our daughter, who attends kindergarten at Seven Locks Elementary, walks to school with me. She has a keen sense of ownership, community and belonging. It has translated into an unbridled enthusiasm for education and a concern for the well-being of her classmates and teachers. The school at its present location falls well within the parameters for a successful elementary school. Its success and the enthusiasm it inspires among its students testify to that fact.

Let the events of the past be a catalyst for change in our thinking about schools, especially the elementary schools.

Kumar K’Singam, Bethesda