Thursday, February 24, 2011

Small Schools Strive for Excellence

As long time readers may know, Joe and I made the full transition from homeschooling our kids to enrolling them in the local public schools just last fall.  Some of our older kids had moved to the public schools during the previous years, but we held out with our younger ones until last fall.

I continue to be pleased with our decision.  There are many blessings in being a part of a small community.  I realize that we are remote.  I realize that our communities cannot offer all the fanfare that a larger community might be able to.  I realize that for some young people especially, this may seem like a drawback instead of a blessing.

But from this parent's point of view, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.

But small schools have some different challenges to overcome than larger schools do.  Keeping enrollment up is one.  Providing college bound students the options they want is another.

The following is a video highlighting a great option our local schools offer the students here.  Matt brought information about this program home just the other week.  It is appealing to me, because unlike the PSEO program, our kids stay right in the building with their peers while earning college credit.  Mrs. Schue explains in the video the benefits to not only the kids, but also to the school environment.

Again, these are small schools.  Losing the best and brightest young people to other "college during highschool" programs would be a noticeable loss in such a close environment.

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