One Room Schoolhouse

I go past this old one-room schoolhouse often on Rt. 33 between Ripley and Spencer. There are all kinds of old one-room schoolhouses tucked away in places throughout Roane County (all over WV, really.) I have friends whose parents attended one-room schoolhouses.

The current trend in education is to consolidate, consolidate, consolidate! In order to get school building funds, you pretty much HAVE to consolidate as much as you can. Unfortunately, research shows that smaller schools are much better in almost every way! I'm not saying that the one-room schoolhouse is the way to go, but I do wish the trend returned to having smallish schools in kids' own neighborhoods. My kids are lucky enough to attend a small school, filled with teachers who are our neighbors and friends. It has been threatened with consolidation for years, but it looks like we're safe -- for now. It's a truly great school, and the test scores show that it is a successful school, despite the economic reality of the area (which typicallyseems to be linked to poorer student achievement.) It just goes to show that a big shiny new building with lots of stuff doesn't necessarily set students up for successful learning -- it has more to do with a staff that cares, small classes, and a strong community that works with the school to provide kids with great opportunities for the kids and for their families.

I love my kids' school! More importantly, they do too!