Size Matters
It's a few minutes before 8 a.m., and a tidal wave is gathering.
Sleepy-eyed 7th and 8th graders, bundled in baggy sweatshirts and
lugging bulging book bags, stream from every direction, forming a
restless sea. The 12- and 13-year- olds, many chatting in Spanish, a
few listening to music on headphones, quickly fill the sidewalk that
runs the length of two football fields in front of their school. "Let's
go, the doors are open!" a teacher shouts, and students pour into a
building big enough to be an airport terminal.
In a way, you could say that Unity Junior High School in Cicero, Illinois, is all about numbers: More than 2,700 students. Seventeen acres. Eight faculty lounges. Eighty-eight restrooms. Ninety-six security cameras. Seventy-eight million dollars. Just what those numbers add up to has been the subject of debate: "Horrible." "Cicero's crown jewel." "A disaster waiting to happen." But at the center of this swirl of words and numbers is the school's sheer size.
When it reaches its full capacity of 4,000 students, Unity will be the largest junior high in the nation, according to Judy Marks, associate director of the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities. But teachers and administrators say that's not necessarily a bad thing—especially given the lack of alternatives. From fewer than 5,000 students in 1983, Cicero School District 99 has grown to serve 13,000 students. School officials have to find space for 500 new students a year in a town with precious little buildable space. In that context, supporters argue, Unity has been a godsend. They speak in glowing terms about a state-of-the-art school that offers kids—97 percent of whom are Latino—an environment usually found only in...
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