Musical Chairs

What is at risk when schools start closing? The futures of our children.

A local high school is closing at the end of the year.  One of the remaining few single gender schools left in the Bay Area, as an elementary school administrator who works with Eighth Grade students trying to find the perfect homes for their high school careers, I am concerned.  Concerned about the dwindling number of single-gender schools that provide both an academic and social haven to so many students. Concerned about how we, as an evolved society, can allow schools to fledge while corporate earnings are at an all-time high. Concerned about the message it sends to our kids when we rip the proverbial carpet out from under their feet as we parcel them off to another school like luggage misdirected during a layover.

Where are our priorities?

It’s a lot like the childhood favorite—musical chairs.  You remember—everyone walking around a circle precariously adorned with folding chairs as some current pop song blasts from a plastic boombox positioned precariously on a table adorned with bowls of Doritos and Cheetos.  Each time the song is played, another chair is removed, and another unlucky seat loses, well, its seat. And, all’s well and good until it’s you out in the cold. You can giggle and smirk at the poor losers who get out of the circle first, but when it comes time for you to be booted from the game—it’s not so fun.

When we allow schools to close their doors, we are letting far more than a few party goers lose their chairs. We are abandoning our children.  We are allowing fate to be the judge and jury with regards to where these kids go next and how they deal with such unrest. We adults, we’ve grown accustomed to change. Our kids? During their formative elementary and even high school lives—forcing them to relocate schools due to a closure can rock their academic worlds.

In the article, “Five things we’ve learned from a decade of research on school closures”, Chalkbeat describes the outcome of school closures like this: 

In a few cases, students whose schools closed benefitted in at least some way. That was true in four studies Chalkbeat reviewed: in Ohio, for instance, students saw major jumps in test scores post-closure; in New Orleans, closures boosted high school graduation rates by about 20 percentage points.

But these results were more exception than rule. In several other places, displaced students were harmed in measurable ways.

In Milwaukee, for instance, high school closures caused steep declines in high school graduation and college enrollment rates. A recent Chicago study — focusing on the highly controversial round of nearly 50 school closures in 2013 — showed that affected students had lower math scores even four years after the closure.

Consistency and routine are two pillars upon which our children rely.

They provide comfort, a sense of security. And, once those are established, working with them on being flexible, adaptable, and open to change can occur. But, for our high school teens who only have a few short years to get settled in, find their place, and form crucial relationships, closing the doors on their school and shipping them off to somewhere else can be truly detrimental.

Let me explain.

First, no matter how eager an adolescent is to leave middle school behind and head off to high school, it is a transition. They go from being on the top to right back at the bottom, so navigating the perils of a whole new social hierarchy come into play. Secondly, the anticipated grade drop that occurs for most high school freshman is inevitable as they are adapting to a new set of academic expectations and instructional methodologies. The same thing occurs when they head off to college. Compound that with the expectation that the relationships students form with the staff at their respective high schools are a necessity when they begin scouting colleges and filling out applications. If the teachers and staff of a school are unfamiliar with a student’s strengths and talents come application season, our kids could be sunk when contending with the ever increasing competition pool that defines the college admission process.

Take into account, too, proximity to the home environment. For the aforementioned example, if students want to continue pursuing the single-gender pathway, only two options remain within San Francisco’s city limits and any others require a southbound commute. If a student lacks access to reliable transportation, they are already limited in terms of where they can go.  And, this can be said for any school that closes—whether it be single gender, co-ed, charter, or otherwise.

Add onto that the fact that these particular students were officially notified of the closure past when high school application deadlines were due, and now they’re left absolutely scrambling. High schools are already flooded with a larger number of applicants than ever before. And, showing up to the party late is never a good look on anyone.  So, these kids are left holding the proverbial bag and giving fate far too much credit.

So, what’s my point?

We need to make education our priority.

And, I fully recognize that I am not saying anything new with that statement.  But, what I am bringing to light is the desire for us, as a collective community, to stand up and take notice. Recognize that all children and adolescents deserve a seat at the table—the right seat for them. As individuals. As scholars. As humans with the capacity for a myriad of talents—art, drama, Mathematics, coding, language acquisition, and athletics.  The pendulum has shifted away from a one-size-fits-all mentality to one that is, instead, aligned with the idea that unique learning styles deserve differentiation and every student has the right to options when selecting the best school for them. 

When we shut the doors on academic institutions—both long-standing and new on the scene--  we are risking dimming the lights on our students’ horizons. And, if history has taught us anything, it’s that when we limit people’s capacity for education, we limit their propensity to acquire knowledge. 

Sources:

https://chalkbeat.org/posts/us/2019/02/05/school-closure-research-review/