Fostering Small Learning Communities in Your School

In a recent National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) blog, 2018 New York State Assistant Principal of the Year Terry Adamec writes about how she developed small learning communities (academies) at her Lancaster school as a way to help all of her students find a place. These communities “encourage students to get involved in not only their daily education plan but extracurricular activities linked to the academy as well.” Adamec’s school chose to organize their communities around career pathway themes such as engineering, finance, health care, hospitality/tourism, leadership, trades, and visual/performing arts.

According to Adamec, the small learning community model at her school has resulted in the following benefits:

●       Career Path Identification: Students have the opportunity to explore various career interests in-depth early in high school, which can save them time and money down later in their post-secondary lives. 

●       College and Career Readiness: Through job-shadows and internships, students gain skills in work study practices -- skills that employers value greatly.

●       Practical experiences that enhance classroom instruction: Instruction has become more project-based, thus allowing for more authentic, “real world” learning experiences for students.

My New Hampshire high school adopted a small learning community model nearly a decade ago. We have both 9th and 10th grade small learning communities for all students. In 2011, our freshman model was recognized by the National School Board Association with a Magna Award for innovation. Our two small learning communities are organized so that freshman and sophomore students can be heterogeneously grouped together with a core group of teachers that include English language arts, social studies, science, and mathematics. Teachers in these communities work as a Professional Learning Community (PLC) team to foster interdisciplinary experiences, project-based learning, and personalized pathways for students to meet their needs. Over the years, as a result of these communities, we have seen a dramatic decline in course failures and discipline referrals combined with a dramatic increase in student engagement and graduation rates. The teachers in these communities, through increased collaboration, continue to raise the bar for themselves in their efforts to meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of each of their students. Over the years, our small learning communities have led to a monumental positive cultural shift in our community for both learners and educators alike.

The small learning community model, sometimes referred to a “school within a school” model, has flourished at both my school as well as Adamec’s school, but school leaders should be cautioned that the model is less popular today than it was a decade ago - and for a variety of reasons. This 2015 article talks about how San Diego has scaled back, and in some cases altogether eliminated the school within a school model in its schools. In addition to declining enrollment, the article cited two big concerns that led to the program demise: One problem stemmed from having students choose their own courses of study in ninth grade which sometimes became a self-selected tracking mechanism. Another problem originated from little collaboration between programs and small schools, resulting in schools competing for resources, and in some cases, students. How can a school avoid this fate? Here are some suggestions:

1. Make small learning communities inclusive, as well as mandatory. At my school, we have found greater success by keeping our small learning communities very broad - they unite students who share one common trait (their grade). We have avoided the temptation of clustering our students by interest areas for feel of them becoming tracked into a program that doesn’t meet their needs.
2. Allow for flexibility within your small learning community model. Flexibility benefits both students and teachers in effective small learning community models. Think about how you can offer flexibility for things like how time is used, how procedures are developed, and how curriculum and assessments are developed.
3. Keep small learning communities both teacher and student-driven. My communities have stood the test of time because a team of teachers have a vested interest in their development and sustainment within the community. These teachers have voice over goals, priorities, and direction for their community with a focus on doing what is best for students.

How could small learning communities benefit your school?

This article was written originally for MultiBriefs Education.