Are small schools a blessing or a curse?

[Anonymous]

My kid is at a very small school, one 16-person class per grade. It has been amazing for her, absolutely the right choice. But there are kids it wouldn’t suit, and there are definitely both trade-offs and risks. Her class gets along well; she has a few close friends, and friendly-but not-close relationships with the rest. But I’ve talked to parents whose kids left the school because they didn’t find their people. These were not particularly socially awkward kids, and they all seem to be thriving in larger environments. With sixteen kids, it’s just a gamble whether they end up clicking, both individually and as a group.

That said, the strong school community and ability for the whole staff to get to know every student are real benefits.

[Anonymous]

In the context of private schools, is a graduating class of 100 to 150 actually “small”?

[Anonymous]

Depends, they can have pros and cons. Pros are your child can get individualized attention. But look into why it is small. Has the school lost many students recently? If so it might be in danger of shutting down.

[Anonymous]

Curse

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think tiny schools are risky and would not consider them for my child.

[Anonymous]

DD is at a small K-8 and it has been challenging socially. The academic benefits have been minimal and don’t outweigh the social constraints for her. She is looking forward to going to a bigger high school.

[Anonymous]

I would not like this for my kids. They seem to pick certain types of kids as friends, and in a smaller school it’s not guaranteed there would be any (or many) of those kids.

[Anonymous]

My kid is unhappy with the change in social dynamics from ~16 kids in elementary to ~40 kids in middle school. She says that people isolate each other, groups break off, and she feels that as someone who is, as far as I and she can tell, reasonably well-liked both in and outside her group. But it's also middle school, and everyone's middle school hormones are on fire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD is at a small K-8 and it has been challenging socially. The academic benefits have been minimal and don’t outweigh the social constraints for her. She is looking forward to going to a bigger high school.

We had this experience at Christ Episcopal School (CES) in Rockville. Classes are super tiny - like 6,7,8 kids in the lower school. Either you fit in and make a couple of friends or you don't and can feel very lonely. The middle school seems better although we did not stay there that long. I do know from a friend that this year's graduating 8th grade class only has 4 students, which to me is crazy! I know during the two years we were there, there was lots of student turn over - families would stay for a year or so and then once the social dynamics became apparent, they would typically leave the next year or so, which then influenced whether other families would stay. It was quite the revolving door of students every year!

I think at any school, the ideal class size should have at least 12-15 kids, to give students options socially. Otherwise a very tiny school can make for a lonely and socially isolating experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD is at a small K-8 and it has been challenging socially. The academic benefits have been minimal and don’t outweigh the social constraints for her. She is looking forward to going to a bigger high school.

We had this experience at Christ Episcopal School (CES) in Rockville. Classes are super tiny - like 6,7,8 kids in the lower school. Either you fit in and make a couple of friends or you don't and can feel very lonely. The middle school seems better although we did not stay there that long. I do know from a friend that this year's graduating 8th grade class only has 4 students, which to me is crazy! I know during the two years we were there, there was lots of student turn over - families would stay for a year or so and then once the social dynamics became apparent, they would typically leave the next year or so, which then influenced whether other families would stay. It was quite the revolving door of students every year!

I think at any school, the ideal class size should have at least 12-15 kids, to give students options socially. Otherwise a very tiny school can make for a lonely and socially isolating experience.

My kid is a tiny school. But they are not lonely at all. They make friends from above and below the grade and knows every teacher/staff in the school. The school as a whole do lots of activities together. It didn't feel small at all. But i think for MS we will switch to a bigger school. I think for elementary years, it is wonderful.

[Anonymous]

What is considered small?

75 per grade?
30 per grade?
8 in all of middle school?

[Anonymous]

The private K-8 dc attended at about 30-35 per grade was great in elementary and miserable in middle school, especially after 2 of dc’s close friends left for different schools one after another. Dc is much happier at the huge public school (650 or so per grade). It’s very kid and class dependent.

[Anonymous]

Academically, a small high school has been great for my 2E kid, who was coming from a large school. The teachers know him well and won't let him fail. His peer group is high-achieving, and it's not cool to be aloof and disengaged like it was at his large public school. So far, it's also been better socially. He's no longer fixated on being in the popular group because the school is too small for that. It's better to be well-liked by your whole class than to be on the football team and try to date cheerleaders. And in fact, the school is small enough that the seniors have warned him against dating classmates, so he's not so focused on girls at school. He sees them more as friends, so he's learning to respect women.