Residents make case for smaller schools

The Albemarle County School Board had scheduled 20 minutes for public comments at its Thursday meeting, but residents had different plans.

Many of the approximately 150 people at the meeting spent more than an hour and a half pleading for three small schools to be renovated instead of closed, while others backed a petition signed by about 648 people asking for more support for performing arts programs.

The county school division for several months has called for public feedback about whether to close one or more small elementary schools in favor of larger ones.

Educators, parents and students vocally have opposed closing the small schools. Strong opposition to larger schools was also expressed Thursday.

A group of residents cited studies that say students are more likely to feel anonymous and unengaged in academics at larger schools, while student-teacher relationships are stronger at small schools and low-income students are more likely to excel in smaller schools.

A rising fifth-grader at Scottsville Elementary told the School Board on Thursday that she had transferred from a larger school where students only saw their principal at assemblies or when they were in trouble — as opposed to Scottsville, where she said principal Nancy Teel knows students’ names and greets them when buses drop them off at school.

Larger schools are believed to be less expensive to operate than small schools. However, school officials have said they’re gathering research and public feedback about what to do with Yancey, Red Hill and Scottsville elementaries.

The Scottsville Town Council presented a resolution to the School Board requesting that the three elementary schools remain open.

The schools, which feed into Monticello High School, are being reviewed as part of a 10-year facilities master plan that also will include planning for schools that feed into Albemarle and Western Albemarle high schools.

Other residents said at the meeting that they’re disappointed in the performing arts programs for the schools in western Albemarle.

They argued that not enough emphasis nor staffing has been dedicated to music programs.

Music Matters, an advocacy group for performing arts in western Albemarle schools, presented a graph showing enrollment in orchestra programs has declined at Henley Middle School by 39 percent in the past four years.

In addition, enrollment in choir and band programs is down by 32 percent and 27 percent, respectively.