Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 11:21:47 -0500 (EST)
From: Daniel & Rhonda Sundberg
Subject: Small community schools
This is my first post ever and I am posting this because the subject is so important. It is important that everyone research the topic of school size. One would naturally think that less school buildings would cost less money. But when the increased dropout rates, transportation costs, security costs, administartion costs of schools over 1000 to 1200 students is investigated it actually costs less per student to have smaller community schools. On top of that satisfaction rates and education performance standards are also better for schools under 900 students. Also please research the correlation of less students per grade and you will find that the K-8 configuration is actually better.
I am not suggesting that Northeast Chatham adopt our western Chatham configuration. But I hope that some additional consideration to leaving what is working for us alone. We do not want a big middle school for our Silk Hope Children to go to. And I suspect that Bonlee, Bennett and Moncure do not either. The proposed big middle school idea has not been thoroughly investigated from an economic or performance criteria or it would no be rising it’s ugly head once again. Please do your own research and help us deflate this idea of changing our school to a k-5, middle school approach.
Dan Sundberg