Grade Configuration: Who Goes Where?

The Northwest Sampler - Idaho

Location
Elk City School
P.O. Box 419
Elk City, ID 83525

Contact
Susan Borowicz, Principal
Phone: 208/842-2218
Fax: 208/842-2225

Grade span: K-10

Elk City School, with 82 students at 11 different grade levels, is located in a remote logging area, a one-and-a-half hour drive from the nearest four-year high school. The school currently has a morning kindergarten; a first-and-second grade blend in the morning with first-graders alone in the afternoon and second-graders with third-graders in the afternoon; one teacher each for the fourth and fifth grades; one-and-a-half teachers for seventh and eighth grade and 0.5 FTE for the two high school grades which depend heavily on distance learning. These class arrangements vary depending on each year's enrollment.

For the upper two high school grades, students must take a bus to one of two four-year high schools and board with another family during the week. The transition is a difficult one socially and emotionally; about one of every three students who leave after the sophomore year do not graduate.

The principal describes the small school as having a family atmosphere, with both the advantages and disadvantages that suggests. Parents volunteer in other classes besides those of their own children. Students are close; the older ones look after the younger ones, but they also bicker as family members do. Over the years, teachers communicate to each other about individual students—what worked and what didn't work, and what the student's strengths and problems are. The downside of the familiarity is that it may be difficult for a student to get a fresh start.

The six teachers and one principal/teacher work as a schoolwide team, meeting at least once a week after school to discuss classroom activities and to integrate the arts into all areas of the curriculum.

The school makes the most of its large grade span through cross-age activities, ability grouping, and schoolwide activities. Fifth- and sixth-graders are grouped for science. Certain seventh-, eighth-, ninth-, and 10th-graders are grouped for an enriched language arts class. High school students help out in the primary and intermediate grades with tutoring activities. Once a month the school has a morning arts assembly at which all classes perform. All classes start the day with 20 minutes of sustained silent reading and each class memorizes at least one poem a month. Using three grants and financial assistance from the local mill, the school has instituted a curriculum that integrates the arts with writing and literature across the curriculum. The science and social studies curriculum revolves around schoolwide thematic units that are interwoven with art and literature.

Though the school is not able to offer electives, it covers the basics. Providing K-10 education plays an important role in keeping families in the community. Ten years ago, before distance education was available, the school was K-8. At that time many families left town when their children were in the middle school grades because they did not want their children to have to live away from home beginning in ninth grade.

Because freshman and sophomores can now be educated in Elk City, more families are staying. The state has also granted pilot status to Elk City School to offer more than the allowable number of distance courses. The community and the major employers in the area—the U.S. Forest Service and the logging industry—are hoping the school can eventually be extended to cover all four high school grades, perhaps by using courses available on the Internet.

Observed Outcomes

• Students are comfortable with technology and are accustomed to many instructional delivery methods. Middle school students have courses from live teachers and by satellite. High school students also take correspondence courses and computer-driven courses which link them by computer to a teacher.
• Older students become role models for younger students.
• The transition to high school, the only school transition in 11 years, looms large for students' entire school career and is stressful and can cause conflict even before it happens.

Keys to Success

• The staff works well together and stays focused upon what's best for children
• The district administration supports the teachers and the mission of the school
• An integrated K-10 program promotes continuity from grade to grade
• The staff is flexible and committed to serving students of all age levels
• A high degree of teamwork is necessary for the success of a small K-10 school; a trusting atmosphere enables students and teachers to take risks and tackle new challenges
• Teachers have weekly collaborative time built into their schedule