consolidation

I learned today via Facebook (imparter of all things true - ha) that my little high school is beginning the process of merging with another little high school in the area. I think they're starting with merging the sports teams and then will move to sharing teachers, eventually merging the schools completely. I have seen this coming for a long time, and honestly, I'm surprised the school remained independent for as long as it has.

It was interesting to read my former schoolmates mourn the coming merger through their comments on Facebook. All the nostalgia and talk of this being the "end of an era" just doesn't fully resonate with me. I think this decision will really benefit the students in the end. With a larger student body, they'll be able to offer more classes (both core and electives), which will really benefit the students. I know I would have loved it if my school had more electives when I attended there. French, business law, accounting, and economics just didn't really interest me although I took them for lack of other options.

In the long run, I think this will be for the best. I think that the need for quality education far outweighs the need to have individual small town schools. That said, I don't feel that my identity was ever fully wrapped up in my high school. That, however, is not true for all my former schoolmates. These small high schools are something that the students and people of the town can really rally around and have pride in. They are full of history and tradition, and I guess that even a small part of me will be a bit sad when the school I graduated from no longer exists.