School closures can have a profound and lasting impact on students, their families, and the surrounding community.
When a school closes, staff members can lose their jobs, students have to adjust to new schools and new classmates, and the community loses an important gathering place.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the negative effects of school closures.
School closures often result in job losses for teachers, support staff, and administrators. In many cases, these employees are strangers in a new town and have to start over from scratch.
They may not be able to find work in their field, or they may have to accept positions that pay less than their previous jobs. Either way, job loss can be devastating.
A school is more than just a place where students go to learn; it’s also an important community hub.
When a school closes, the community loses a gathering place. Local businesses may suffer as well, since parents and other community members will no longer have a reason to frequent them.
In addition, crime rates may rise in areas where schools have closed because there will be fewer people around to act as witnesses or deterrence.
Finally, school closures can lead to increased dropout rates.
When students have to change schools, they may fall behind academically or become disengaged from their education altogether.
Some students may feel like they don’t fit in at their new schools and decide to drop out as a result.
Others may struggle to keep up with the work and eventually give up. Still others may get involved with gangs or other negative peer groups and turn away from school completely.
Whatever the reason, increased dropout rates are one of the most harmful effects of school closures.
Now let’s look at what we can do to prevent school closures.
One of the most important things we can do to prevent school closures is to advocate for funding. Schools need adequate funding in order to stay open, and right now, many are struggling to get by.
By urging state and local officials to invest in education, we can help ensure that schools have the resources they need to stay afloat.
Another way to prevent school closures is to keep enrollment high.
When enrollment numbers decline, it puts a strain on a school’s finances and can eventually lead to closure.
So if you’re a parent or guardian, make sure you’re sending your children to the school of your choice, and encourage other families to do the same.
Finally, we can prevent school closures by supporting our local schools.
This means attending school board meetings, voting in elections, and staying up-to-date on what’s happening in the educational system.
We also need to support teachers and staff, who are working tirelessly day in and day out despite the challenges they’re facing.
School closures can have a profound and lasting impact on everyone involved — from students and their families to employees and the surrounding community.
It’s important to be aware of these effects so that we can do everything possible to prevent school closures from happening in the first place.
By working together, we can protect our schools and our communities.
I’ve tired of seeing our public school districts lose the enrollment battle. It is time to rethink our approach to enrollment and pull our families back from other educational choices.
I’m available to consult with folks for free. Together, let’s fix this.