Anonymous
Post 05/12/2026 09:41     Subject: Re:Are small schools a blessing or a curse?
Anonymous wrote:My DD is much happier following transition from a tiny all girls environment with <20 kids per grade level to a medium sized co-Ed environment with the ability to mix with more kids and more social opportunities. The small can be lovely with a close-knit, cohesive, kind cohort but are much more subject to the power of a bully or queen bee. In a larger environment, the influences of queen bee personalities were diluted and my child was able to find friend groups more easily.


This seems to be the benefit of a co-ed school rather than an all girls' school.
Anonymous
Post 05/12/2026 09:20     Subject: Are small schools a blessing or a curse?
My sons went to a one class per grade K-8.
They are in college.

It surprises me to see how other families don't have the "got your back" mentality that comes with a small community.

I made a joke about a field trip where my kid forgot his lunch and a dad bought him lunch with his money. He said "Your mom would do the same for mine, so you don't have to pay me back," and this came up when we were organizing a dorm room move out. The parents did not help each other out and where very "stay in my lane", like "I cleaned my 8X10 space. The rest is your problem,".

The contrast to the way our small school sees it that every child matters and we help each other (even if the kids are not best friends) is palpable.
Anonymous
Post 05/12/2026 08:51     Subject: Are small schools a blessing or a curse?
My kid benefitted educationally from a small private school in middle school, but was desperate to escape for high school. At the middle school, she had a tiny group of friends she didn't really like. Her freshman class has 200 kids and she has a great group of friends. Bigger school = more options. It's a selective high school with small classes, so those benefits are still in place. She is much, much happier now.
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 22:12     Subject: Are small schools a blessing or a curse?
Curse. If the class mix is off social skills will not be developed. Schools like Sheridan are too small
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 20:53     Subject: Re:Are small schools a blessing or a curse?
I went to a small school (maybe 70 kids) and really liked it. I had close acquaintances and people to hang out with (I wouldn’t call them close friends, which I haven’t had since about 3rd grade), which I lost when we moved several hours away and I enrolled at a giant public high school. Did the small school experience make me socially stunted? I don’t think so. I had friends in my medium sized elementary, “friends” in small middle and high schools, and just could not deal with the giant high school and had nobody. I think my 2 years at the giant high school did stunt me, and I had very very few people I talked to in college.
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 18:16     Subject: Are small schools a blessing or a curse?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I went to a really small private (Christian) elementary school and I feel like I'm still socially stunted because of it. My 5th and 6th grade classes--which were those two grades combined--had a dozen kids and I was one of three girls.



Unless you are currently 16 years old or under, there is no reason that you should still be socially stunted because of this.


Idk have you seen the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, cause I think that is evidence that some people can be socially stunted beyond the age of 16...
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 18:12     Subject: Are small schools a blessing or a curse?
Anonymous wrote:I went to a really small private (Christian) elementary school and I feel like I'm still socially stunted because of it. My 5th and 6th grade classes--which were those two grades combined--had a dozen kids and I was one of three girls.



Unless you are currently 16 years old or under, there is no reason that you should still be socially stunted because of this.
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 18:10     Subject: Are small schools a blessing or a curse?
Anonymous wrote:My benefited from a small school and the many opportunities to interact with kids in various grades. This is hard to do in a large school and it opened up a lot of different types of positive relationships.


+1 and this has been so beneficial for my kid. I think small school is extremely beneficial for relatively shy kids.
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 13:54     Subject: Re:Are small schools a blessing or a curse?
My DD is much happier following transition from a tiny all girls environment with <20 kids per grade level to a medium sized co-Ed environment with the ability to mix with more kids and more social opportunities. The small can be lovely with a close-knit, cohesive, kind cohort but are much more subject to the power of a bully or queen bee. In a larger environment, the influences of queen bee personalities were diluted and my child was able to find friend groups more easily.
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 13:53     Subject: Are small schools a blessing or a curse?
My benefited from a small school and the many opportunities to interact with kids in various grades. This is hard to do in a large school and it opened up a lot of different types of positive relationships.
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 13:16     Subject: Are small schools a blessing or a curse?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It just depends on the kid and the school. I went from a regular public middle school to a TINY private high school (you could almost count the number in my entire grade on 2 hands). And that high school experience was great for me! But it would likely not be great for everyone, and as a parent, I think you have to know your kid but also by high school, really listen to your kid because they likely have a good idea of what environment is best for them.


The downsides to small schools are pretty clear from the discussions here. The upsides:

No one falls between the cracks and gets lost. There are no cracks.

Students who were overwhelmed by larger schools - noise, bullying, whatever - find a safe refuge and open up to learning again. Bullying at school is seen and stopped (online bullying is much harder to deal with).

Students who need frequent individual attention get it.

Teachers can differentiate assignments and expectations student by student if needed. That can work for those who fall behind AND those who want to move ahead faster or in more depth.

That's the tradeoff for smaller social circles, fewer sports and clubs, etc. It works really well for those students who need it.


I'm the poster you replied to. I will also say regarding fewer sports and clubs, that's obviously true, but that also allows a student to participate in more/different sports and clubs than they may have in a larger school (for instance, I was on 2 varsity teams for sports where I NEVER would have made a varsity or a jv team at public school, and it was a great experience). But again, I would say that while this school was a good choice for me, a similar school would absolutely have been a terrible choice for my own kids.
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 12:21     Subject: Are small schools a blessing or a curse?
Anonymous wrote:It just depends on the kid and the school. I went from a regular public middle school to a TINY private high school (you could almost count the number in my entire grade on 2 hands). And that high school experience was great for me! But it would likely not be great for everyone, and as a parent, I think you have to know your kid but also by high school, really listen to your kid because they likely have a good idea of what environment is best for them.


The downsides to small schools are pretty clear from the discussions here. The upsides:

No one falls between the cracks and gets lost. There are no cracks.

Students who were overwhelmed by larger schools - noise, bullying, whatever - find a safe refuge and open up to learning again. Bullying at school is seen and stopped (online bullying is much harder to deal with).

Students who need frequent individual attention get it.

Teachers can differentiate assignments and expectations student by student if needed. That can work for those who fall behind AND those who want to move ahead faster or in more depth.

That's the tradeoff for smaller social circles, fewer sports and clubs, etc. It works really well for those students who need it.
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 11:38     Subject: Are small schools a blessing or a curse?
It just depends on the kid and the school. I went from a regular public middle school to a TINY private high school (you could almost count the number in my entire grade on 2 hands). And that high school experience was great for me! But it would likely not be great for everyone, and as a parent, I think you have to know your kid but also by high school, really listen to your kid because they likely have a good idea of what environment is best for them.
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 09:44     Subject: Re:Are small schools a blessing or a curse?
It can be both. And it can be highly variable within a school because a few students/families can really influence a specific grade either positively or negatively. In addition to the obvious social limitations of a small school, I would also consider the extra-circular and sports opportunities. My kids are at a small PK-8th. I wouldn't say is has been a bad choice but they cannot wait to move to a "larger" high school. (I say "larger" because the private high schools are still much smaller than most public schools.)
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2026 09:32     Subject: Are small schools a blessing or a curse?
I went to a really small private (Christian) elementary school and I feel like I'm still socially stunted because of it. My 5th and 6th grade classes--which were those two grades combined--had a dozen kids and I was one of three girls.