To the Editor:
The arguments for consolidation in Carter County have been primarily that students will have access to better programs and the cost will be cut allowing for more resources. According to the Association of Independent and Municipal Schools (AIMs), consolidations cost more because of differentials in salaries and in benefits that have to be equalized to the school system that offers the most beneficial package. Larger schools necessitate more administration and security, which has to grow as the district grows. Also, transportation costs increase significantly. Providing transportation to students at a location that is more central to the county than the town is significantly costlier. Lastly, AIMS notes we must consider the long-term costs to our students as well. Larger schools have a lower graduation rate, higher arrests, poorer health, and students are subject to more violence, lower social integration, and overall poorer behavior.
Some members of the Carter County Board of Education would like to push the agenda that students deserve access to more programs and classes. Yet Dr. Alvin Rosenfield, author of The Over-Scheduled Child, brings attention to the fact that many parents today are falling into the trap of “Hyper-Parenting.” Children are enrolled in numerous programs and classes to pad their college applications or represent themselves as well-rounded. He goes on to explain that children today are more prone to anxiety and depression according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA). The ADAA estimates that one in eight children suffer from an anxiety disorder. Children are no longer allowed time to be creative and create self-awareness. They are competitive in so many areas of their lives they lack the ability to perform at their level and become comfortable with who they are. More programs and classes, including Advanced Placement classes, are pushing students/children to excel and mature at an alarming rate. We are advancing children into society without regard for what they actually need. Smaller school districts do offer less in the terms of sports, extracurriculars, and yes, some classes. However, often in these districts we see access to education and programs that incorporate children in every socioeconomic class. By consolidating, students become another face in the crowd, and more often than not, many faces are lost.
Specific to Cloudland and Hampton High schools we find that out of 345 schools they rank 141st and 209th respectively. With Cloudland having anywhere from 300-350 students and Hampton hovering in the area of 1,500 students we see very pointedly the difference in school ranks. According to SchoolDigger.com, of the top ten high schools in the state of Tennessee, six of those have less than 1,000 students. Furthermore, according to the Community Works Institute: “Thirty or more years of research bore out the finding that small schools are safer, offer better teaching, and result in higher academic performance. Compared to larger schools, students in smaller schools fight less, feel safer, come to school more frequently, and report being more attached to their school.” Ultimately combining Cloudland and Hampton high schools would be detrimental to both schools in the long run.
The Roan Mountain community has been informed it is a “done deal.” It is only a matter of time. Many of us parents are asking, “how is bigger going to be better?” In a community like Roan Mountain, and I think I can say a community like Hampton as well, we won’t be just losing a high school. We will be losing small student teacher ratios, higher rates of inclusion, and ultimately create more hardship for students. I have a child in kindergarten, and I expect that when he is in high school, we will have crossed this ill-fated bridge. For now, we all have to pray that statistics are wrong. We have to pray that consolidation doesn’t mean cutting teaching personnel and adding administrative personnel. My personal opinion is that, since I actually moved to Carter County because of the school system, I am not happy about my children going to a consolidated school. When I explain it to them, I don’t know how to tell them, it wasn’t worth paying an extra few cents on the dollar for them to go to school locally. At the end of the day letters, petitions, or rallies are not going to stop this from happening, but time will tell the story. I sincerely pray that the story is not one of regret.

Juanita Cole
Elizabethton