James Hill: “Mr. Chairman, when I was growing up in Jackson County, Indiana, there were more high schools than there are today. In…”

“Mr. Chairman, when I was growing up in Jackson County, Indiana, there were more high schools than there are today. In towns like Tampico and Clear Spring and Cortland, there were high schools that local kids attended and local families supported. These schools brought people together and helped keep their towns strong and vital places to lives. They were the heartbeats of their communities. When school consolidation forced high schools to close, it tore the hearts right out of these communities. These high schools, along with thousands of other small schools around America, were closed because for many years educators followed a rule that bigger schools are better. For a long time, we all assumed that bigger schools were better because they could offer students more courses, more extracurricular activities, and could save schools money. We need to rethink our assumptions about larger schools. New research shows that achievement levels in smaller schools are higher, especially among children from disadvantaged backgrounds who need extra help to succeed. My amendment would not authorize a separate program. Title IV of the bill includes a list of innovative options that local schools can explore. My amendment would simply add smaller learning communities to that list.”