K-12 Building: Beneficial or Harmful?
Imagine this: as an eleventh grade student you're walking towards the doors of your school when you are met by a kindergartner, with whom you then open the door for and then go your separate ways to your classes. In Sharon Springs Central School this is a reality. Everyday kids ranging from 4 years old to 19 years old pass each other on their daily commutes to their classes.
Where many students may not find this a good learning environment, teachers, former students, and parents may disagree. Michelle Keaney said that " The younger students being able to see how older kids act helps them mature faster, and the older students seeing the younger ones helps them be more conscious of how they are behaving." This is coming from a person who works within the school, has children in the school and went to Sharon Springs Central School when she were younger. Many teachers would agree that this smaller learning environment lets students achieve a closer relationship with students so they can better their learning and feel more comfortable.
On the other hand, some current SSCS students do not see this environment beneficial due to "it has negative effects in younger kids having to interact with big older students." It creates an environment where the younger students are uncomfortable and nervous because of having to be around these older judging eyes. One student said, "I remember when I was little; it was scary having to run into the older kids into the hallways".
In Sharon Springs Central School you can walk down a hallway and pass by an eleventh grade English class and a eighth grade social studies class at the very same time. There is complete blending of the classes throughout the halls. Students that are ages of 19 to 13 mingle in the halls and become "friends". As in most schools this would never happen, the age gap and maturity level separate some but some of these unlikely relationships become life long. "Working with the same people all the time could cause issues in development throughout the education process." Although we work in small classes we interact through many grade levels with is not always likely in other schools.
While many students may not see the benefits of a small central school now, in the many years past high school these students will see the impact it had on them.
