Wausau School District. MWC file photo.
CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – The Wausau School District is debating consolidation. Enrollment is down. Expenses are up. Some schools will be closed or combined. There may also be changes about which grades go to which middle and high school buildings.
I will let you in on a secret: Smaller schools are better for students.
A smaller school offers smaller class size, more individual attention, and a more personalized experience for students. An environment where most students know each other, and most teachers know most students is best.
That’s more important for younger students. I’d like to see as few elementary schools consolidated as possible. Two at most, certainly not five.
There’s a trade off for combining two high schools into one. A smaller school is better academically. A bigger school can offer more specialized classes, and will have stronger athletics and arts programs. I favor a more intimate high school environment because our schools are about academics first; extracurriculars are second.
I’ve already heard one thing that makes no sense. Wausau’s report cards vary from one school to another. Consolidation could even out those results. That’s false, because school permanence isn’t about schools, it’s about students. Let’s suppose there are 200 underperforming students in Wausau’s elementary schools. 150 of them come from three schools in the city proper. The others are spread out over the other suburban schools. Closing the four or five schools simply spreads the underperforming students around, it doesn’t magically improve their classroom learning. The issue with underperforming students almost always involves home life; whether parents emphasize education, read to them, check their homework, and go to teacher conferences. None of that changes if schools are consolidated.
School closings are always unpopular. Near-empty schools waste money. Schools that are too large aren’t as good for students.
My wish at this stage of the debate is a go-slow approach. It’s important that the Wausau School Board gets this right.
Chris Conley
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