Some school districts are turning to a longtime, rarely used strategy—school mergers—to address challenges like lopsided enrollment, segregation, resource gaps, and academic performance.
Known as “merged,” “paired,” “center,” or “cluster” schools, this approach combines students from two or more schools and splits them by grade level across multiple campuses, such as K-2 in one school and grades 3-5 in another. The strategy can create more socioeconomically and racially diverse student populations, foster collaboration among teachers, and make better use of limited resources.
While school mergers have shown promise, the approach comes with plenty of challenges.
Families often resist change. Logistical hurdles—such as transportation and managing staffing—can be steep.
Research on long-term outcomes of merged schools is limited. But experts see potential benefits for academic growth, school climate, and integration.
These are some best practices for getting communities on board with merged schools:
Get educator buy-in
Educator support was essential to the success of the merger in Caldwell Parish.
Superintendent Nicki McCann and her administrative team reached out first to principals, who helped get teachers’ support. Many teachers, in turn, helped convince parents that the merger would benefit all students.
A similar approach helped North Carolina’s Charlotte-Mecklenburg district when it considered pairing neighboring Billingsville and Cotswold elementary schools in 2017. Before the plan went public, the superintendent spoke with Alicia Hash, Cotswold’s principal, to see how she felt about leading a merged school.
“I was like, I’m all about it. Let me know how I can support it,” Hash recalled. “I just knew that it was the right thing to do for all kids.”
Hash had two weeks to absorb the proposal before it was unveiled to the community. She believes strongly that the person leading the work must be deeply invested in the model and believe in integration as a benefit for all children.
In Charlotte, district leaders initially did not discuss the plan with teachers to avoid leaks. But once the proposal became public, they quickly met with teachers to answer questions and gather input.
Offer incentives beyond increased diversity
Mergers can free up resources to launch new or improved programs.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg expanded Spanish instruction at the merged school, moving from a once-a-week model to more in-depth language learning.
In Caldwell, McCann created new art and music teaching positions and emphasized how the merger would enhance teaching and learning for all students.
Be transparent with the community
Clear communication is key. Leaders should explain the reasons behind the merger, share potential benefits for all students, and invite input before final decisions are made.
“Community input and transparency [are] a critical part to any successful redistricting,” said Matthew Cropper, the president of Cropper GIS Consulting, LLC, who has consulted with school districts on redistricting plans, including pairings. “Enabling the public to see what’s going on, to see what type of options are being considered, and to provide input before things are finalized is very important, in my opinion.”
In Caldwell, McCann held two meetings with the entire community—one to present the proposal and a second to address concerns around transportation, special education, and sports.
Acknowledge historical problems and personal experience
Mergers can stir deep emotions, especially in communities with painful histories of school segregation and inequity.
In Caldwell Parish, the only Black school board member voted against the merger because of past negative experiences with desegregation.
In the District of Columbia, some Black parents worried about how teachers from the majority-white school would treat their children.
“That is a concern,” Hash said. “Parents wonder, ‘Once my child is in a more diverse setting, are they going to be given the level of attention, care, and nurturing that they were experiencing in a smaller school, where it was more of a single demographic and it felt more like community? Are they going to get lost in a bigger school? Will there be teachers who would have the cultural lens and mindset to help support all learners?’”
Hash, a Black mother herself, approaches parents with both her parent and principal hats on.
“What I want for my child, as an African American mother as well, is what I want for all children,” she will say. “Our goal is that all children, regardless of race, SES background, learning needs, everybody is going to succeed in this space.”
If possible, build in a planning year
A full year of preparation allowed staff at Billingsville-Cotswold to build relationships, visit each other’s schools, and discuss student work in professional learning communities. They also visited the Ron Clark Academy, an intentionally diverse school in Atlanta, and received culturally relevant training.
To be sure, mergers can be implemented without a planning year. Caldwell Parish’s school board voted in April 2023 to create merged schools, and the district had the new structure in place by the start of the 2023-24 school year. The summer in between was packed with the kinds of activities that the Charlotte schools had been able to stretch over a year: forging new staff and school communities, hammering out logistics.
Honor the strengths of each school community
Mergers can fuel harmful narratives of a “good” school taking over a “bad” one. District and school leaders should try to actively counter that idea by celebrating what each school brings to the table.
In Charlotte, Hash emphasized that Cotswold offered a well-regarded International Baccalaureate program, while Billingsville had shown strong academic growth and deep community partnerships.
“It is never a school takeover,” Hash said. “It is a school merger where you honor the past and you build a new future. Because at the end of the day, you’re looking at creating access to high-level teaching and learning for all students and expanding community.”
Be prepared for significant pushback to the idea of a merger
Resistance is inevitable. Families may express concerns about academic quality, property values, or logistical inconveniences, even citing unrelated issues like increased traffic or environmental impacts.
“It’s an uphill battle to get a change like this made,” Cropper said. But once it is in place, communities typically adapt and embrace it, he added. “It’s a successful model if it’s done properly.”
