Attending a small school provides students with many benefits, such as one-on-one help from teachers, having many friend groups and knowing almost all of the students in the school. Small schools may not get as much attention from athletic scouts or from political figures, but inside of these schools lie so many talented students that are being guided along the right path with the teachers and fellow students’ help.

“Knowing students by name will help them. I feel like students are more invested when they feel like the teacher actually knows them,” high school history teacher Jeffery Griffith said.

In a small school with smaller class sizes, students are given the opportunity to get the one-on-one instruction that they need. Students can find the time to really understand their material by feeling comfortable in their classroom environment. The teachers know their students extremely well and can easily remember everyone.

“I think [small schools] are better because it is more of a family then a school. Everyone knows everyone and knows they are family. It makes you feel more at home and you don’t have to worry about meeting new people,” junior Jacob Bishack said.

In a small school, students know just about all of the other students in their grade. This allows for students to find many different friends and allows school to be a better social experience for many students. It doesn’t matter which grade level or what classes you take, you see everybody in the hallways and even during extracurriculars.

Outside of school, students have the ability to create many small, tight friend groups through their extracurricular activities whether it be through cheerleading, robotics, baseball or even band, students are able to get close to everyone in the group. Club memberships aren’t very high in numbers.

“In small schools, I think that students have more opportunities to get a part in the musical ot a spot on an athletic team. At some bigger schools, there is such a large number of students trying out for things. I also think that students get to know each other better because they have multiple classes together,” Griffith said.

The small school environment is almost family-like. The community itself is very close, If you were to attend a basketball game, you’ll see parents and grandparents talking to each other and kids talking to kids. With a community so close together, everyone is able to get along.

Without the small school environment, students would not have the support system of friends, teachers and the support of their extracurricular groups. Small schools have the ability to function much better. The staff knows the students and the students know the staff. Without this quality, school would be much more complicated.