ENDNOTES

Chapter 1

  1. George E.Burns and J.P. Miller Sociological Perspectives on School Closure Practices and Modes of Penetration into Community Structure, (Toronto: OISE Ontario Institute for Studies in Education 3873. Also, Sher, Jonathan P., "The Battle for the Soul of Rural School Reform: Can the Annenberg Rural Challenge Turn the Tide?" in Phi Delta Kappan, October 1995.
  2. Rural Education Centre, Looking the Dragon in the Eye: School Consolidation Pros & Cons, (June 1994) Western Montana College of the University of Montana, Dillon. For example, Bob Anderson, Executive Director of the Montana School Boards Association states, "Students do better when their parents are involved with them and their education. ... when they are empowered to help create a better school system," p. 5.
  3. William H. Drier and Goudy Wills, "Is I There Life in Town after the Death of the High School? : or High Schools and the Population of Midwest Towns" paper presented at the Annual Rural and Small Schools Conference (Manhattan, KS, October 24, 1994). They conclude that a community without a high school loses population faster when compared to all towns losing population during the same period.
  4. Jim Fanning (August, 1995) "Rural School Consolidation and Student Learning" ERIC Digest No. EDO-RC-95-4. Fanning, citing a study by E Young (4/94), states, "There is growing evidence that school consolidation offers little or no financial advantage in controlling costs."
  5. Deirdre Purdy. "Rural Schools and Modern Visions" in Across the Ridge, Spring 1994. Purdy points out the alienation that is caused by the elimination of small schools. According to George E. Bums and J. P. Miller, "Socialogical Perspective on Small School Closure Practices and Modes of Penetration into Community Structure," (Toronto: OISE Ontario Institue for Studies in Education 3873), "the political character of conflict arising from the school closure process has resulted in decisions that are not always educationally sound." Jonathan P. Sher in "The Battle For The Soul of Rural School Reform," in Phi Delta Kappan, October 1995, asks, "What is the point of pushing an industrial model of schooling on pre-industrial communities that must prepare students for a post-industrial world?"
  6. Nova Scotia Department of Education document, School Construction Fact Sheet, available on website: www.EDnet.ns.ca/educ/construction/factsheet Note: url valid at time of publication