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Small Schools, Big Issues
By the Editors of Rethinking Schools
A rundown of this special issue.

Editorial: The Small Schools Express
By the Editors of Rethinking Schools
If we ignore race and money inequities, small school reform won't help anything meaningful take root.

• Questions to Ask About Small School Reform Plans

Not in Our Name
By Michelle Fine
Reclaiming the democratic vision of small school reform.

Standardizing Small
By Ann Cook and Phyllis Tashlik
How testing and top-down reform can undermine small schools.

An Open Letter to Bill and Melinda Gates
By Michael Charney
Thanks for helping start Success Tech Academy in Cleveland, Charney says, but tell state leaders they're going to have to fund these ideas too or your money won't be well-spent.

The Gates Foundation and Small Schools
By Barbara Miner
The Gates' $735 million have made them key players in small school reform.

• Who's Behind the Money? - Barbara Miner spotlights the newest big education donors.

Small Schools Doubletalk
By the Editors of Rethinking Schools
Small schools reform is often accompanied by familiar buzzwords that can mean different things to different people (sometimes called "stakeholders").

Creating Democratic Schools
By Deborah Meier
A democratic school culture is the best professional development.

'A Little School in a Little Chinatown'
By Debbie Wei
One of the founders of a folk arts-based school slated to open in Philadelphia this fall hopes small schools can create possibilities for reclaiming communities.

When Small Is Beautiful
An interview with Héctor Calderón by Catherine Capellaro
The principal of Brooklyn's El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice shows how art can connect students with their communities.

Tackling Tracking
By Ian McFeat
A teacher finds that small school reform presents opportunities to teach about tracking and inequality.

• Man, I Feel Sorted — a poem by Joey and Shar

• Why Should Only Pre-I.B. Students Be Challenged? — By Mariana Villegas and Tausha Sabin-Lee, Foss High School

• Some Resources on Teaching About School Tracking

Rhetoric or Reality?
By Linda Christensen
Do small schools change teaching practice?

My Small School Journey
By Craig Gordon
An Oakland teacher experiences the negative effects of small school reform in the midst of a budget crisis.

Bargaining for Better Schools
By Diana Porter
One union works for meaningful small school reform.

'We're Not Blind. Just Follow the Dollar Sign'
By Pauline Lipman
Chicago's "renaissance" could mean dark age for city's public schools.

• Communities Struggle to Make Small Serve All by David Stovall

• Parents Fight School Closings by Julie Woestehoff

Youth Take the Lead on High School Reform Issues
By Fernando Carlo, Antoine Powell, Laura Vazquez, Shoshana Daniels,
Clay Smith, with Kavitha Mediratta and Amy Zimmer
Sistas and Brothas United.

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COLUMNS AND DEPARTMENTS

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No Child Left Untested: Small Is Volatile
By Wayne Au

Strange Stuff

Short Stuff

Good Stuff

Letters

Resources | Small School Resources

Student Voices