12-GRADE SCHOOL mSTRIG 

 GAINS FURTHER SUPPORT . . . 



By JOHN K. cox. Director 



lAA Department of Rural School Relations 



TO DATE, 34 counties have sent in tentative school reports. The recommenda- 

 tions made are as follows : 

 SEVEN counties have recommended school reorganization snly on the dual 

 basis. 

 TWO counties have recommended mainly three grade community unit dist- 

 ricts but have also made several recommendations for dual system districts. 

 TWELVE counties have recommended 

 county 12-grade units. 

 THIRTEEN counties have recom- 

 mended the large community 12-grade 

 district. 



Over 75 per cent of the recommenda- 

 tions to date have been for the 12- 

 grade unit. 



In traveling over Illinois, we find close 

 similarity in the type of questions and 

 objections offered at practically all of the 

 meetings on school reorganization. 



unit.'' I think we would pretty generally 

 agree that the smallest effective high 

 school unit that can be financed at rea- 

 sonable cost would have an enrollment of 

 from 150 to 300 pupils. If one high 

 school attendance unit is in prospect, 

 then the distance to travel, the condition 

 of the roads, and the location of those 

 roads would have considerable to do with 

 determining how large a school district 

 can reasonably be. 



Another stock question is, how can we 

 reorganize schools until we have the 

 roads first? As was mentioned before, 

 bad roads need not postpone school re- 

 organization since no school should be 

 closed until transportation in that par- 

 ticular area is possible. The fact re- 

 mains, though, that we have needed bet- 



... AS RURAL PEOPLE SEE 

 SOME OF ITS ADVANTAGES 



Objections and Questions 



I shall attempt to enumerate some of 

 the objections to school reorganization 

 and questions concerning it. One ques- 

 tion is, how can we keep local, control 

 in reorganizing schools? The answer is 

 that the purpose of school reorganization 

 is to make local control work. There are 

 many examples to show that local control 

 has not worked as well as it should, par- 

 ticularly in recent years. A small dis- 

 trict may be, and often is, very autocratic. 



It is small enough to be a political 

 football and to be affected by the whims 

 of one or two leading families in the 

 community. Sons, daughters, nieces, and 

 friends often are placed on the faculty 

 of such a school because of the prestige 

 of a single individual. Such favoritism 

 is detrimental to the spirit and morale of 

 the school. 



However, if more representation than 

 is possible under a seven-member board 

 is desired in a larger district, it is pos- 

 sible to set up an advisory committee 

 with one member from each township or 

 former school district to meet with the 

 school board periodically or upon re- 

 quest, at least until the area has passed 

 through the transition stage of reorgan- 

 ization. 



Wiiat is the Purpose? 



Another objection often heard is that 

 it isn't fair to a little town to take away 

 its high school. Let us ask ourselves 

 first, what is the purpose of the high 



school — to train pupils or to get busi- 

 ness? If the high school isn't doing the 

 job, it is a waste of money and time, and 

 the community will deteriorate both so- 

 cially and economically as a result. 



Also, school reorganization involving 

 bigger high school attendance units does 

 not take the high school away from the 

 people. It provides a better high school 

 a few miles away, whose program, 

 adapted to the needs of the larger com- 

 munity, will be much more beneficial to 

 the community life and prosperity of the 

 entire area than the meager offering of a 

 small high school can possibly be. 



Smallest Effective Unit 



It is sometimes mentioned that a pupil 

 will lose all individuality in a larger 

 school. In answer, it might be said that 

 the organization of a school rather than 

 its size is the determining factor in 

 whether a child receives special and 

 needed attention. In most rural com- 

 munities and small towns, that would not 

 be a problem at all. Also, I have known 

 schools of 3,000 or more that are so 

 organized that several members of the 

 faculty know each pupil intimately and 

 by name, at least one of which faculty 

 members has been to the pupil's home 

 and where the pupil is impressed with 

 his worth as an individual and has the 

 value of good counseling service, as well. 



Another question is, what is the small- 

 est high school enrollment that would 

 serve as a suitable base for a 12-grade 



ter roads for years and have made little 

 headway until the school reorganization 

 program has developed. We are just be- 

 ginning to make some notable progress 

 from the state level in the direction of 

 better secondary roads. The experience 

 in other states is that school reorganiza- 

 tion provides a very good lever for ob- 

 taining better roads. In the meantime, 

 many advantages of a cooperative nature 

 can be enjoyed by the larger administra- 

 tive district while maintaining all or part 

 of the present attendance units. 



Get Good Board Members 



Another question is, who can we get 

 to handle such a big job? Well, we 

 should select only the best people for 

 board members, and it is easier to choose 

 a few good board members than many. 

 Also, the school districts of Springfield, 

 Peoria, Rockford, and others, all large 

 systems, have numerous school build- 

 ings, pupils, and teachers and yet only 

 one board of education to handle each. 

 The city of St. Paul, for example, has 

 only one school board member which 

 they call a commissioner of education. 

 Much reliance must be placed in school 

 district superintendents and their prin- 

 cipals. The board is, and should remain, 

 largely, a policy-making body. 



Another question is, won't high school 

 principals, in the main, be selected as 

 superintendents of these unit districts? 

 The answer is "yes" in many cases, part- 

 ;'■■' :i" (Continued on Page 26) 



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