Fourteen small Atlanta high schools will be consolidated into four large schools next fall, a partial reversal of one of the key initiatives launched by former Superintendent Beverly Hall.
In 2005, Hall led the High School Transformation Initiative, which split four of Atlanta Public Schools' comprehensive high schools into multiple small schools, each with a few hundred students focused on certain subject areas such as health sciences and nutrition. The costly changes brought Atlanta national attention but produced mixed results.
Small schools, while effective, weren't outperforming traditional programs enough to justify the continued expense, school officials said.
This week, APS officials announced plans to collapse the small schools -- each with its own principal, staff and student council -- back into a larger entity for a savings of about $700,000 per consolidated campus. District officials said the traditional format will give students more access to programs and coursework.
"This is about maximizing resources so students benefit," said Karen Waldon, deputy superintendent for curriculum and instruction.
Under the current format, students don't have access to the variety of courses like Advanced Placement and foreign language like those in larger schools do, Waldon said. For example, a student at a small school of health sciences and research can't take a course at a school of government and public policy, even if they are on the same campus.
But students said the small schools offer a personalized experience that can't be replicated. Junior Alise Wilson was on track to be one of the first graduates from the Washington High School of Banking, Finance and Investment. Wilson said she has grown close to her peers and administrators and was upset to find out her school would be consolidated.
"We should keep small schools because it has helped a lot of students with their career interests," she said. "Small schools have smaller class sizes, so it's easier to stay focused and learn."
District officials said they plan to convert the small schools into "small learning communities," a similar concept introduced by Hall at most of the district's other high schools.
The communities concept still seeks to offer a more personalized experience by grouping students in areas of interest. But the administrative costs are lower, and there is more opportunity to share resources.
School officials said the transition for students will be seamless.
"The bottom line is both models are effective," Waldon said. What they are trying to do, she said, is determine "how we can ensure we are providing, across the district, equity in all programs."
The district's high schools office, which oversaw the restructuring, had a two-person staff and a $200,000 budget in 2007. The next year, it employed 20 people and spent $5 million.
Atlanta still trails Georgia as a whole in every measurable academic category, such as the percentage of graduates requiring remedial instruction in college and average SAT scores. The city has a few notable exceptions -- magnet programs such as Carver Early College High School, which enroll only high-achieving students, and Grady and North Atlanta high schools, which have small learning communities, not small schools.
The changes mean principals at the 14 small schools will have to reapply for principal positions or other jobs in the district. APS has formed a transition team to assist schools during the consolidation, Waldon said.
The Rev. Joe Flint, an Atlanta parent, thinks the change is "fantastic" and said he is proud of APS for evaluating the program and deciding to go in a different direction. He believes it's the fiscally responsible thing for the district to do.
"We’re having issues with the budget and you’re having four principals in one building?" he said. "I am not a fan of small schools at all."
Staff writer Alan Judd contributed to this article.
box:
From smalls schools to one school
South Atlanta:
School of Computer Animation and Design
School of Health and Medical Sciences
School of Law and Social Justice
Therrell High:
School of Technology, Engineering Math and Science
School of Health Sciences and Research
School of Law, Government and Public Policy
Washington High:
School of Banking Finance and Investment
School of Early College
School of Health Sciences and Nutrition
Senior Academy
The New Schools at Carver:
Early College
School of the Arts
School of Health Sciences and Research
School of Technology
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