Attending a small school can be incredibly advantageous for any individual student. Whether your student is not socially ready for the environment at a large school with so much ongoing commotion, or your student is serious about their studies and wants to focus on learning – a small school could be a great fit for your child.
A small school provides more flexibility, enabling students to focus on the subjects that they love – or subjects they need additional help with. At small schools, there is a focus on the student. The teacher-to-student ratio enables teachers to accurately assess and teach students according to their own individual levels.
Teachers seek to ensure the success of the student. Therefore, they do whatever it takes to make sure the classroom is on the same page and they teach with a “no child gets left behind” standard.
On top of this, small schools tend to focus on making sure students are prepared for the next year to come – setting up their students for success in the future.
If any of this sounds like something you want for your child, keep reading.
Learning to Be Productive
In school, your child will be spending their time focused on their lessons, rather than daydreaming and looking out the window. Students will not only learn that learning isn’t all bad — but grow to love their time in the classroom and strive to make the most of it. Students will increase their desire to be productive without even realizing it.
Moreover, with a heavier focus on learning in the classrooms, students will become more engaged in the subjects they enjoy and strive at and increase overall productivity in and out of school.
Additionally, students will learn the importance of something adults often forget to do — take a break. Teachers are likely to adjusts the pace of class to accommodate the students’ needs. If the students need a 15-minute break after an hour and a half, they’ll get one.
Learning about their individual natural rhythm not only makes school easier on the students but can increase their overall productivity.
Recognizing Their Strengths
Every student has a favorite subject. Some things simply come easier than others, and teachers are quick to pick up on this. In a small school where teachers can easily keep a watchful eye on students, they can help identify student’s strong points.
Learning about each student’s interests and what skills they excel at is crucial. It allows teachers to change the gears of the class and focus on helping students utilize their strengths to their advantage.
Another great opportunity for children attending a small school is that they get to engage in not only subjects in activities they already know they like, but have the opportunity to discover new subjects and find new passions that they never knew they had.
This goes together with a child’s desire to be productive and gain experience while learning new skills. The skilled teachers in small schools can observe the skills and strengths your child has and use that knowledge to determine other subjects your child will likely enjoy and excel at.
Recognizing Their Weaknesses
Just as every student has a favorite class that they are strong at – every student also has a subject they are weak at. Whether that weakness is math, language arts, science, social studies, no matter what – being in a small school is the best place to be in order to improve on whatever subjects your child may be lacking in.
At a smaller school, your student will be given the time they need to focus on the subjects where they need the most attention. By making their weaknesses a point of focus, students can fully understand the depths and reasons as to why certain subjects don’t click as well as others. A skill that will be beneficial in their careers.
Knowledge of their weaknesses will allow them to adjust and take the time needed to properly execute projects they know will be more challenging for them.
In addition, with extra one-on-one attention given by the teachers in a smaller classroom setting, students have time to not only work on their weak points in their studies – but turn their weaknesses into their strengths.
Less Distractions
Whether it is elementary school, middle school, or high school – there are distractions everywhere in a school setting. Club activities, school events, sports days, etc. In a small school setting — while there is still plenty going on, there isn’t nearly as many distractions to take your child’s thoughts astray from their studies.
Small schools focus on traits such as being responsible, teaching leadership, and due to the small amount of students, it’s easy for teachers to keep their eyes on students and ensure they are behaving as they should be and thus improving the social-emotional skills of the students.
Social Benefits of a Small School
One of the most crucial things about attending any school, is the guarantee that the students feel safe. At a small school, students are much more likely to feel comfortable around their peers and their teachers.
This sense of safety is crucial for students — for if fear is there to hold them back, students are less likely to be active inside of the classroom. This leads to an overall lack of participation and productivity for students. Not good for learning.
Students are eager to learn and know that if they are struggling their peers and teachers will be there to help them with anything. Students in small schools are more likely to make real friends and don’t need to worry about trying to fit in with all the cliques and cool kids because everyone knows each other and are more likely to be friendly with one another.
Academic Benefits
Social benefits are not the only good thing to come from small schools. In fact, the social benefits can actually lead to benefits in a student’s academic performance, as well.
In the classroom, students are free to feel a sense of confidence in the classroom and are willing to take more risks and participate in activities. This added participation can not only boost their confidence even further, but actually helps students learn more effectively – thus improving their overall academic performance in the classroom.
As mentioned previously, teachers are able to take advantage of the lower number of students and focus on the things each individual student needs. Individualized attention is an invaluable resource that is present in small schools and not large schools.
The Teachers
One of the key components to identifying a student’s strengths and weaknesses isn’t simply the water or air within a small school – it’s the teachers.
Teachers in small schools are more than willing to tailor classes in order to meet certain needs of individual students that could potentially be falling behind. Smaller classes translate to a teacher’s ability to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of all the students.
In addition, studies show that teachers at smaller schools feel much more fulfilled and have a high sense of job satisfaction. You might be wondering, “but why does this matter”? Well, when teachers are happy and excited about teaching, it shows in their lessons. Classes become much more engaging and interesting for the students, which in return keeps the students excited about what they are learning. Thus, keeps students motivated to learn more.
Benefits of Learning from Your Weaknesses
Though it may sound discouraging, inside the classroom – and really anywhere in life, failure is inevitable. There is no such thing as a perfect student, and even the brightest in the class cannot always be correct – and sometimes being wrong can be hard. However, in a small classroom setting your child can rest assured that making mistakes is totally acceptable and even encouraged.
Making mistakes is a key part of the learning process for almost anything. In smaller classes, students are encouraged to participate and in the event a mistake is made it is used as an opportunity to build a foundation for learning.
Students are more willing to ask questions and consult the teacher if they aren’t getting something — or if something just doesn’t make sense to them. The teacher can explain it to not only them but the whole class. This not only reinforces the material for students who weren’t behind to begin with, but also teaches other students who also weren’t completely confident with the subject, as well.
A Place for Learning
Small schools are geared for teaching and education. The focus is on the students’ performances as well as their well-being. Small schools provide a safe environment for your students to learn what they need to learn and focus on what they need to focus on – whether it be their strengths, weaknesses, or learn totally new skills.
While in larger schools (especially high schools) students are more focused on getting through the day. At a small school learning is not only enjoyable but their daily curriculum revolves around education. Meaning at all times students are being evaluated and gradually growing as individuals and becoming young professionals.
Small schools will focus on what your child needs in the classroom. Your child will get the proper attention and be provided with all the tools they need to not only survive in the classroom but strive in their school life.
Encourage Students to Pursue a Career
Many of us had several dream jobs as children. Learning about new subjects created new interests we thought could make a good career. For many, their career essentially started in school — where the idea of their career was initially forged.
In a small school, students are introduced to all kinds of subjects in depth, learning about what subjects they like and dislike – and also begin to think of ideas for their future. Small schools train students to become young professionals and guide them towards their strengths both — inside the classroom and out in the real world.
Preparation for the Future
These days, big companies and employers will be reluctant to even look at a resume if the applicant hasn’t graduated from college with at least a 4-year degree. What really sticks out to employers, however, is graduating from a top-level university. While getting into a high-end school is far from easy – not to mention far from affordable, attending a small school can help.
As students will learn what subjects they favor most in school, they can begin to prepare with ample time on the next big step in their lives. College.
With the resources available in smaller schools’ students can create an ideal image of what they want their future to look like, and will have the means to pursue their goals. Students interested in science can focusing on getting into a school known for their science curriculum.
This also means students will know what subjects and career paths are not for them and be guided towards a path meant for them.
Learning to Know Themselves
In conclusion, the strongest benefit of attending a small school is flexibility. Children have the necessary means to discover their strengths and weaknesses and work on them accordingly.
Students will feel satisfied and kept busy with their schoolwork and build skills that will translate into excellent work habits well into their futures. On top of being kept motivated from learning how to deal with things they struggle with, they will strive to be productive in the real world as working adults.
Learning to utilize their strengths to the best of their abilities, and do what they can with their weaknesses — students take what they learn in the classroom and put their knowledge to good use where it applies in the real world.
Contact us to learn more about the benefits of sending your child to a small school.
Frequently Asked Questions
One-to-one learning is an educational approach where a student receives personalized instruction from a teacher in a one-on-one setting. This method allows for individualized attention, tailored lesson plans, and pacing that matches the student’s unique needs and learning style. It’s particularly beneficial for students who thrive with focused support, whether they’re advanced learners or need additional help in certain areas. At The Tenney School, one-to-one learning is at the core of our philosophy, ensuring each student can maximize their academic potential in a supportive, customized environment.
The Tenney School offers individualized, one-to-one instruction for students in grades 5 through 12. Our curriculum is designed to meet the unique academic needs of each student, whether they are in middle school or high school. We focus on preparing students for success in their current grade level while also setting them up for future achievements in college and beyond. Our small class sizes and personalized learning approach ensure that students in every grade receive the attention and resources they need to excel academically.
The Tenney School has maintained accreditation through Cognia (formerly the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools) since 1979. The accreditation process is repeated every five-to-six years. The last School Accreditation Engagement Review of The Tenney School was successfull completed in February 2022.
The Tenney School earned an Index of Education Quality (IEQ) score of 318.5 from Cognia on the last review. This IEQ is well above the average school IEQ (278.34 – 283.33).
