Financial pressures are prompting districts throughout BC to consider closing schools. Yet research shows small schools are beneficial for students and communities.
BC is currently piloting a Neighbourhoods of Learning Centres program, which, if fully implemented, could provide pragmatic solutions for saving small rural schools in the face of growing fiscal pressures and/or declining enrolment, while providing broader commnuity benefits.
Page Contents
- Research
- News & information
- School Closure links
Research
“International research shows that small schools – commonly defined as elementary schools between 100 and 400 students, and secondary schools between 500 and 1000 students – are more successful when compared to larger schools.”
Source: Ontario’s Small Schools - a report highlighting the benefits of small schools from People for Education in Ontario.
News & Information
The Tyee: Turning schools into neighbourhood learning hubs
Katie Hyslop, The Tyee
October 14, 2010
Many families and teachers in B.C. are waiting with bated breath to find out if their neighbourhood school will be closed by school boards trying to maintain services on a limited and declining budget.
But some school districts are taking a different approach. Instead of closing schools, they’re inviting the community in and offering social and medical programs space in their schools, providing services outside of the traditional mandate of K to 12 education. It’s not a new concept. But it’s being re-imagined to fit the needs of B.C. communities today. Read more
250 News: Grants will further study of future use of some rural schools
September 30, 2010
- $20,000 will go towards Carney Hill Elementary to establish a restorative practices circle room that incorporates aboriginal culture in the school and community.
- $10,000 will allow School District #57 to partner with Fraser-Fort George Regional District to conduct a Neighbourhood Learning Centre feasibility study for Giscome, Hixon and Nikko Lake. Read more
Vancouver Sun: Tiny BC commuity saves its local school – by buying it
Janet Steffenhagen, Vancouver Sun
September 30, 2010
Residents of a tiny community in northern B.C. have been fighting to save their school for months– writing e-mails, attending meetings, occupying the building after it was closed in June and even setting up a tent outside the school so their children’s education could continue close to home.
But this week, they settled on a better course of action. They’re buying Dunster Fine Arts School from the public school district.
Dunster is about 250 km east of Prince George.
The deal, worth $39,500, was announced Tuesday night by the Prince George board of education, which will carry the mortgage. Board chairman Lyn Hall said it’s a win-win situation — with parents retaining a much-loved school and the district, which is in a financial squeeze, reducing its costs. The community will be responsible for operations and maintenance. Read more
Read more debate on the broader implications of the Dunster solution on Janet Steffenhagen’s Report Card blog here and here
HQ Prince George.com: Solutions continue to be sought for rural schools
August 31, 2010
Prince George, B.C. – Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid says the Province isn’t necessarily looking at changing the funding model for rural schools, but is interested in looking at new ways of doing things.
MacDiarmid says raising taxes in some areas in order to compensate for higher costs associated with some rural schools is not a solution the Government is looking at.
She says they want to ensure education is equitable across all regions of the province.
A solution the government is interested in pursuing is establishing schools as Neighborhood Centres of Learning, where community services such as health care, day care services, or seniors programs could be offered outside of school hours. Read more
Education Week: Study finds success for NYC’s small schools
June 23, 2010
Debra Viadero
At a time when reformers and philanthropists have largely turned their back on the “small schools” movement, a major study of New York City high schools has found that students are more academically successful in smaller, more personal high schools that they choose for themselves than they are in larger, more traditional schools.
The report released last night by MDRC, a New York-based research group, focuses on the 1.1-million-student school system’s effort from 2002 to 2008 to shut down 20 large, failing high schools and replace them with 200 smaller schools where students might be more likely to receive the attention they need. Researchers found that students who ended up in the small schools were more likely than peers in other kinds of city high schools to be on track by 9th grade to graduate in four years, to stay on track for three more years, and graduate from high school on time.
“This is the first convincing evidence that the ‘small schools’ model can be effective at improving student outcomes,” said Brian Jacob, a professor of education policy and economics at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Read more
250 News: Rural schools set up new group
June 2, 2010
Prince George, B.C.- The rural schools within School District 57 are joining together to try and bring about change that will save rural schools from future cuts.
In a brief presentation to the Board of Education, Denise MacDonald of Giscome said whenever there are funding concerns, the rural schools are the first on the block. That is why a group called CORES has been established. CORES stands for Coalition Of Rural Education Sustainability.
Speaking on behalf of CORES, Karen Welsh says the group is in its early stages but already has the support of the Regional District and the local MLAs. “The MLAs have told us there may be changes in funding, but that wouldn’t come for a long, long time.”
Welsh says the new group will look at the challenges facing rural schools “The current school system seems to be more urban oriented.” Read more
The Province: Rural towns have much to teach us about schools
June 2, 2010
Lower Mainland families have felt the impact of funding cuts to local schools for years now, and the budget picture from Victoria gets gloomier. More programs are shut down, more teachers laid off and more buildings and playgrounds deteriorate without funds to fix them.
Many of us believe a well-educated public is an invaluable resource and we are deeply disturbed by the erosion of support to our schools. We see its effects in our cities and suburbs daily despite the efforts of individual teachers and administrators to minimize the damage.
But what if you lived, as many British Columbians do, outside of our metropolitan centres, in places where the local school represents more to the populous than many city dwellers imagine?
Across the province, it is not a cliche to say that the school is the lifeblood and the heart of a small community. Read more
The Tyee: BC School Closures: A cure worse than the disease
18 February, 2010
Crawford Killian – The Tyee
Forty-four of B.C.’s 60 school districts have closed 176 schools since 2002, and over 50 more closures are certain or threatened over the next couple of years. But demographic projections suggest that closures are a short-term solution that will create a long-term problem. Read more
Prince George Citizen: Greying population has direct link to school closures
Neil Godbout, Citizen News Editor
January 28, 2010
A few weeks ago, I threw out some suggestions for newsmakers of the coming decade and the biggest development I saw in my crystal ball for the next 10 years in Prince George was the effects of an aging population.
The greying hair and wrinkling skin of Prince George residents has just claimed its first victim — School District 57. Declining enrolment has pushed senior administrators and trustees into considering closing 11 schools and reconfiguring three more. Read more
School closure links
- BCTF School Closure database: Find out how many schools have closed in your district or others.
- BC Education Analysis:Interactive map of BC school closures since 2002
- BC’s Neighbourhoods of Learning Centres program
- Vancouver school closures
- North Vancouver school closures
- Prince George school closures
- Rossland – a Vision for Small Schools: A community website dedicated to advocating for public K-12 education in Rossland, BC
Here’s a terrific U-Tube video produced by RSS student Maddie Snelgrove highlighting the ongoing campaign to save Rossland Secondary School:
- West Coast Save our Schools Committee (Ucluelet) produced another terrific video during the fight to save their elementary school in 2010.
For information on school closures in other districts, click on the district page from the list on the right
