“What’s a portable?” I asked my roommate sitting on the couch across from me. She paused her story and stared at me in disbelief. “You don’t know what a portable is?” she asked incredulously. A little embarrassed, I admitted that I had absolutely zero idea what she was talking about. She quickly explained the purpose of a portable and continued with her story. Since this conversation, we have had many instances where one mentions an aspect of our schooling that completely baffled the other. I knew that my school experience was unique, but I never realized just how different it was from everyone elses.

There are a significant minority of people who have felt the same as I did at one point or another when discussing their high school experience. “70 percent [of students] will attend a high school whose numbers include at least 900 students” (Horyna and Brooks-Raacke 708). Small schools create a different atmosphere, and many times, provide different opportunities than those from a larger school. While it is different, that doesn’t mean it is bad. Small schools have many advantages that larger schools don’t offer, in this way, small schools can create big impacts.

One of the many inequalities among schools is the size. In a survey I sent out to various college students I asked the question “How big was/will be your graduating class?” I received a variety of responses ranging from 15-1200 (“High School Experience”). That is an incredible difference in size. In an article by Brian Carolan looking at correlations of high school sizes to various factors, he defines school sizes as “small (<600 students), moderate (600-999 students), and moderately large (1000-1599 students), with large-sized schools (>1599 students)” (Carolan). This is an inclusive description, but it doesn’t take into account those who attended a rural school. My high school was 150 students, which is <600, but there is still a significant difference between 200 students and 500 students. An article published in Forbes says the ideal size for a high school is 400-500 students, as it is “small enough to maintain an intentional culture and large enough to offer a coherent curriculum” (Ark). The question is: Why are schools larger than 500 students? Kathleen Cushman explains that “public schools grew large in an era that regarded their task as producing large numbers of educated citizens as efficiently as possible” (Cushman 1). Tom Ark’s article also explores the idea of “shopping mall schools,” somewhere that offer various opportunities. Schools expanded as the cost efficiency and desire for winning sports teams grew (Ark). Small schools have a harder time competing with the variety of opportunities but many times offer much more meaningful experiences.

Teachers aren’t often seen as much more than their job description. Students see them as authority figures that are there to teach them things that have been determined by the state as required. But in a small school, teachers put on many different hats. My 6th-grade teacher, for example, also ran the clock at every single sporting event, was my driver’s ed instructor, and was my track coach. Without his involvement, I would not have had the opportunity to take driver’s ed from my school or run track. Teachers’ involvement and investment in the school are critical the smaller the school is. Kate Phillippo conducted a study on teachers that took on advising roles, she said, “teacher support can boost student’s academic engagement and achievement, … promote help-seeking behavior, … buffer the negative effects of living in high-crime communities, … and prevent dropout” (Phillippo 2259). The ability to provide this support to students is a wonderful benefit that is offered by smaller schools. The student-to-teacher ratio helps to develop meaningful relationships. In the research I conducted, I received 41 responses, 29 from those who attended big schools and 12 from those who attended small schools. I asked the question, “Did you have close relationships with your teachers? If so, did you feel they were beneficial to your success as a student?” 100% of the students who attended a small school said they had close relationships, whereas only 76% of students from the big schools responded with a yes. Many of the positive responses from the big schools had a condition such as it depended on the teacher or only a few teachers (“High School Experience”). These conditions help illustrate the quantity-over-quality mentality that many schools grew out of.

When it comes to teachers, quantity over quality is harder to maintain the smaller the school. There was a school a few towns over that had a permanent sub, for a handful of years, for their high school math because they couldn’t find someone to fill the position. Whereas the school I attended had teachers who had been there for 30, 40, and even 50 years. They were extremely dedicated to their school. In an article by Marie Bjerede discussing the benefits and struggles of rural schools she says, “although rural districts may have trouble attracting teachers, they have an excellent track record of retaining teachers” (Bjerede). An article titled The Middle of Somewhere by Elaine McArdle supports this idea and adds, “living and teaching in rural America ‘is uplifting’” (McArdle). Many people will gravitate back to the area they grew up in when looking for teaching positions. This leads to exceptionally dedicated teachers, teachers who are 100% committed not only to the school but to the students. They care about each individual and oftentimes follow their success after their high school career, a characteristic not widely found by larger schools. One of the questions asked in my survey was “Did you ever feel like you were lost in the crowd while at school?” I received 17 “Yes” and 24 “No.” The breakdown of the numbers were as follows: 92% of small school responses were no whereas only 45% of big school responses were no (“High School Experience”). Small school attendees felt less like a number and more like their teachers cared. No one felt left behind or lost, everyone was seen and helped.

When asked about their high school experience, many people reflect back on the memories that were made with friends or their sports experiences. This was another question I asked as part of my research survey: “Did you struggle to make or keep friends in school?” I received 26 ‘no’ and 24 ‘yes,’, but the breakdown was not what I thought it would be. Of the small school responses 75% answered yes and only 25% answered no (“High School Experiences”). I expected that there were be more who answered no, as my own experience was that it was difficult to make friends when there weren’t many to choose from, but this could vary from person to person.

Having fewer people in high school was a huge advantage. My school did what we called color groups, and put some kids from each grade into a group that you would do various activities with throughout the year. It helped develop a sense of school pride and camaraderie, especially when it came to dodgeball day. The atmosphere of the classrooms isn’t the only thing that affects relationships, Carolan and McArdle found that both parent and community relationships can affect the social life of the students. In his study Carolan found that “the parents of adolescents’ friends are also likely to be friends,” but he also explored “[if] an adolescent may be more likely to help another adolescent if their parents know each other” (Carolan). Parents knowing parents could come about from a variety of sources. One could be proximity, neighbors, or small communities. McArdle’s article discusses how “rural schools often are the nerve center of rural communities” (McArdle). This close-knit community feel can lead to all of the parents knowing each other, for better or for worse. The disagreements or the friendships of the parents can affect the student’s relationships.

One of the largest concerns for attending a small school is the quality of schooling you are receiving. Carolan says, “school size has important effects on learning; many high schools should be smaller than they currently are.” That being said, he also said that “high schools can be too small” (Carolan). Cushman poses similar questions in her essay asking if “small school’s curriculum [can] provide enough breadth and depth to satisfy the needs of every student?” (Cushman 6). She later discusses a school with significant financial struggles, “yet on a shoestring budget this school has provided better conditions for high-quality learning than many of its larger neighbors” (Cushman 6). Many argue that this is some fluke in the system, this school just found a way to make things work, but Cushman argues that “small school[s] typically gives both staff and students more responsibility for their own learning” (Cushman 7). This is what drives the academic success and graduation rates of small schools so high. In a research study done on the size of a high school to the student’s motivation, Brittney Horyna found that “students who are enrolled in smaller school environments… typically are subjected to more positive and beneficial educational experiences” thus resulting in higher attendance and graduation rates (Horyna and Bonds-Raacke 716). These positive experiences combined with the self-responsibility taken by the students cultivate a learning environment that produces learners who want to keep learning.

Sporting events are a central part of any high school experience. The school pride that runs alongside the athletes is astounding. In an article posted by Varsity Brands discussing the connections of school pride to various aspects of student success, they said “the large majority of principals (89%) feel that it’s important to build school spirit” (“Research”). A student-written article posted in a high school newspaper supported the importance of building school spirit saying, “‘school spirit definitely speaks to the morale. Like what are we doing here, how do we love our community?’” (Dain et al.). Lack of school spirit decreases both student and teacher morale, as fewer students participate, there are more cancellations of activities. Small schools can not afford to have these cancellations as there are already so few students to participate. Sometimes the community steps in. Rural schools are quite often located in a town populated by its graduates. Everyone has continuing school pride. In my experience, it felt more like community pride than school pride. Friday night football games were a big deal, basketball games were a big deal, and the whole town would turn up to support whether they had a kid on the team or not. McArdle’s essay spoke to many of the strengths of rural schools one of which is “a very strong sense of community” something I got to see firsthand (McArdle). One of my research questions regarded school spirit following graduation. I asked, “Do you still have ‘school pride’ in relation to your high school?” I received 15 “No” and 26 “Yes.”

The divide in answers was again interesting 41% of the small school replies were no and 58% were yes. The big school’s responses had a slightly larger divide with 66% answering yes and only 34% answering no (“High School Experience”). In part, this could be because larger schools had more activities to offer that fostered feelings of school pride, or those stuck in small towns desperately wanted to leave and didn’t have fond memories of school. Either way, there is a positive trend in motivation, academic success, and school spirit.

The divide is ever-growing between a large high school experience and a small or rural high school experience. What you are taught within your experience might not be different, but the quality of the experiences are in direct contrast with one another. The smaller school sizes provide more meaningful opportunities for their students whereas larger schools have more of a factory mentality. But as was mentioned, schools can be too small, not providing as much growth as is needed to be successful. While many times you don’t get to choose the high school you attend, it is always interesting to reflect and see how much your high school experience affected you.