Durham resident Erin Sharp has asked that we post the following:
April 16, 2013
Oyster River
Cooperative School District
Attn: School Board
SAU #5, 36 Coe Drive
Durham, NH 03824
Dear School Board Members:
Due to professional travel,
I am unable to attend the meeting about equalizing elementary school enrollment
in the district. I am an ORCSD parent (current 3rd grader and a 4
year old) and I am faculty member in the department of Family Studies at UNH.
My area of expertise is lifespan Human Development with a focus on adolescent
development. I am knowledgeable about the developmental research on school
transitions, as well as other significant life transitions, and based on the
empirical data I would strongly encourage School Board members to avoid any
decision that would add an additional school transition to our children’s
educational experience.
Although changing the grade
spans served by the two elementary schools would potentially benefit the district
budget and administrative structures, the message from developmental and
educational research is fairly clear. An additional school transition would
certainly negatively impact many of our children’s academic performance,
attachment to school, and their well-being. This negative impact would be
greatest for the most vulnerable students in our district. Why? It takes time
for students to adapt to an environment, attach to a setting, establish a
routine, and feel confident in their educational setting. The space matters.
Children change grades, teachers, and classmates each year; we have a
responsibility to make sure their comfort in their physical space and with the
staff and administrators remain stable for as long as possible.
Developmental psychologists
have recognized that they got it wrong when it came to recommending a middle
school transition. The research is clear – the ideal educational grade span is
K-8 and 9-12 – leaving schools trying to find ways to take the middle school
years out of the middle. Less empirical data exists on transitions during the
elementary school years, but research that has been done indicates that even
these early transitions are associated with negative academic, social, and
psychological change. Children often rebound from these transitions, but it
would take up to a year and then the children would experience another school
transition.
We are very attached to our
3rd grader’s school. We would be disappointed if our younger son was
required to attend a different elementary school. However, my concerns about the
long term educational experiences of the children in our district (as a whole)
far outweigh concerns about overcoming those personal disappointments. Also,
from a personal perspective, I have observed the positive impact that it has
had on my son to be a 3rd grader in a school setting that feels like
his. With each new year attending the same school, his confidence, sense of
belonging and ownership, and his view of himself as an ambassador to the
younger (and new) students increase. In part this is due to his maturity, but
this is also because he feels like an expert of his environment.
Here is a list of some
citations if you are interested in reading the empirical work:
Alspaugh,
J.W., and Harting, R.D. (1995). Transition effects of school grade-level
organization on student achievement. Journal of Research and Development in
Education, 28(3), 145-149. (much more work by Alspaugh)
Anderman,
E. M., & Midgley, C. (1997). Changes in achievement goal orientations,
perceived academic competence, and grades across the transition to middle-level
schools. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 22, 269-298. (much more work by
Anderman but this is a commonly cited article)
Eccles, J. S., &
Roeser, R. W. (2011). Schools as developmental contexts during adolescence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21,
225-241.
Coladarci,
T., & Hancock. J. (2002). Grade-span configuration. Journal of Research in
Rural Education, 17, 189-192.
Epstein,
J. L. & Mac Iver, D. J. (1990). The middle grades: Is grade span the most
important issue? Educational Horizons, 68, 88-94.
Franklin,
B., & Glascock, C. (1998). The relationship between grade configuration and
student performance in rural schools. Journal of Research in Rural Education,
14(3), 149-154.
Howley,
C. (2002). Grade-span configurations. The School Administrator, 3(59),
24-29.
I appreciate the
opportunity to express my opinion on this issue and wish I was able to attend
the April 18th meeting. If I can provide additional information to
the board, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Erin Hiley Sharp, PhD
Assistant Professor of Family
Studies
