Letter to SB re: elementary school enrollment

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 3^rd 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 3^rd 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 3^rd 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 18^th 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