Disabusing Small-Schools Reformism: An Alternative Outlook on Scaling Up and Down

This chapter provides a retrospective analysis of the ‘small-schools’ reform package supported by the Gates Foundation. In particular we examine the origins of the initiative; the rhetoric surrounding it, including its ‘theory of action’; its distinctly urban focus; and its likely infl uence on the fate of small high schools in the United States. Our unusual standpoint ensues from our long involvement with small schools in rural communities, especially in Appalachia.