A Perfect Size of School

Dunbar's number- 150- is the largest number in which groups of humans can maintain stable social relationships. This is the number of students on campus at any quarter at SEED Academy.

In Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point, he looks at the maximum size for any functioning group. He believes that at some number, intimacy and trust is lost, and thus the efficacy of the group diminishes. Supported by case studies and biological research, Gladwell explains that humans have the capacity to exist in groups of up to 150, citing numerous supporting examples.

Reading this in Gladwell's book was confirming. Envisioning SEED Academy, we want to have four sections of 10-12 students per grade level. Therefore the projected size of the 9-12 program at SEED academy is roughly 200. While at first this seems to have overshot Dunbar's number and Gladwell's finding, at any given quarter, 50 of the students will be off-campus in the Experiential Program. This leaves 150 students on campus.

Therefore, in a way by happenstance, we have envisioned a school size that will, according to Malcolm Gladwell, operate at maximum capacity without losing stable relationships.