CCS seeks ways to deal with (very) small classes

CORNWALL — Enrollment at Cornwall Consolidated School (CCS) is expected to be  about 86 when the school year begins Aug. 31. 

That may not be the lowest it’s ever been, but compared with the current number of households here, it is an indicator of a serious decline in young families.

The state’s Committee on Aging predicts that over the next 10 years, Cornwall’s senior population will rise from 27 to 41 percent.

At CCS, continuous restructuring of staff and curriculum addresses the needs of the students foremost, but also preserves an experienced faculty and keeps the school rated high enough to attract families to town.

Small isn’t always better when it comes to class size. There is a tipping point. When it comes down to just four or five students — as expected in three grades this year — the social component becomes a factor. 

Principal Michael Croft has been addressing the matter since he arrived four years ago. 

Among the first steps to addressing declining enrollment was a cross-curriculum approach. Students from two or even three grades can often be combined successfully for subjects that don’t rely on a succession of learning. 

Larger classes can also mean more opportunities for ideas, discussion and group projects. Art, music and physical education are easy places to combine students. 

This year’s enrollment numbers run very close to the projections that prompted a restructuring that will include putting the 11 fifth-graders with the older middle-school students for lunch, chorus and recess.

“We are ready to keep an eye on their interactions with the older kids,” Croft said. “We are relatively confident, knowing our students, that there won’t be any issues.”

Sixth grade is at four students — two girls and two boys. It has been the class that has almost always been combined to some degree with other grades.

First grade, with five students, and second grade, with 12, will be combined for the entire school day. 

That model has worked well in other area schools. Retaining two teachers allows for students to be divided for subjects as needed. An advantage of smaller classes is a more finely tuned approach to meeting individual student needs. 

Third and fourth grade, with 14 and five, respectively, will combine for portions of the day for reading, social studies and science.

Largest class: 18 students

Kindergarten will be at an optimum size of 10. Seventh grade is at 11. 

The largest class by far is this year’s eighth grade, with 18. That’s 22 percent of enrollment that will be gone next year, against an even lower projection for kindergarten.

Croft believes a school can and should work on ways to increase enrollment. 

“The Economic Development Commission is looking for ways to bring younger families to town. It’s a tough row to hoe. But I think there are things we can do.”

Lowered tuition for out-of-town students could attract more, Croft said.

Tuition students are rare. Typically, children of faculty members (tuition is waived) are the students who come from other towns. But the school board recently approved an incoming first-grade tuition student from a family that lives in Sharon, just over the Covered Bridge. Residents there tend to be attached to the West Cornwall community, which was the case posed in the family’s request.

Accepting the student is in line with the board’s tuition policy, which essentially allows any student as long as there is room in the school. Transportation is excluded. 

Since the school is its own district (in addition to being part of the Region One School District) it can set its own policies, with tuition aimed at covering costs.

Discounted tuition offered

Last year, Croft was successful in proposing to the board a tuition drop from about $25,000 to $6,000. His argument was that the per-pupil cost formula of dividing total operating costs by enrollment is too simplistic. 

Most costs, especially the largest, are static, regardless of enrollment. Adding a student to a classroom, for instance, is not going to raise the teacher’s pay, or the amount of heat or electricity used.

Tuition is now driven by the need to at least cover Cornwall’s cost per student for regional shared services, including the superintendent’s office and special education. The policy allows for potential increases there.

Although the Cornwall community is historically hugely supportive of its school, with enrollment on a continuing decline faculty cuts seemed apparent.

That’s not the plan that Croft favors, however. Experience and teamwork are a large part of the success equation, he said. A teacher cannot be expected to be available to return when and if the school needs him or her again. 

The preferred plan is that when teachers retire or leave, they are not replaced. There is also a complex team-teaching plan in place.

“Our message to the Board of Finance and Board of Selectmen during budget planning was that this is the best way to maintain a robust program, “Croft said. “With layoffs, you don’t get to make smart choices about where people do their best work.”