Rural, but not forgotten
Editor's note:Over the course of the next two years, News Zone will showcase every school in the Natrona County School District. Learn about the great things happening for kids throughout the district -- and be sure to watch for your school next!
One room, multi-grade levels. Generations of ranch families with old-fashioned values and rich community histories.
That is what Red Creek and Alcova elementary schools have in common. Both are rural, one-room classrooms, with one teacher and a mere handful of students.
Alcova, a K-6 school, currently has eight students, one teacher, one assistant and office support. At one time, 40 students were enrolled in Alcova, before the dam became automated. Mari Stoll, former principal, said that it’s only been since the last couple of years that Alcova has been a one-teacher, one-room school.
Red Creek, another K-6 school, currently has four students and one teacher. The school itself is a modular trailer. Teacher Hazel Scharosch used to live in a second modular home on the property, but now lives in Alcova.
Tom Rodabaugh, principal for both schools, said that Alcova and Red Creek are unique in that they provide one-on-one attention for the students.
“When the teacher is working with another student, the kids have to take responsibility for their own learning,” Rodabaugh said. “And the older kids
really take accountability for helping the younger students.”
Stoll, now serving as principal solely for the expanding Cottonwood, agrees that these schools are special.
“They’re very small,” Stoll said. “They both have a lot of charm.”
Red Creek and Alcova, although some 20 miles apart, are considered neighbors and frequently work with each other. Every Friday, a bus takes the Red Creek kids to Alcova, where they particpate together in gym, art and music.
As safe and charming as these two schools are, Rodabaugh admitted that there are some drawbacks to the rural way of life.
“Possibly the hardest thing,” Rodabaugh began, “is the transition into junior high.” Stoll agreed
and said many of these students transfer to Poison Spider for sixth and seventh grades before moving on to a larger middle school environment.
“We just need to make sure we’re providing good education for our students and make sure they’re ready to move on to the next level,” Rodabaugh said.
Rodabaugh, also principal at Mountain View, plans to make regular visits to the schools, and he will use his Mountain View instructional facilitator to provide support for his rural students.
“These are really neat schools,” Rodabaugh said. “It’s going to be fun to spend time out there and see what they can do.”
**************************
As can be imagined, both Alcova and Red Creek have interesting histories.
In 1988, due to a lack of potable water, Alcova School came close to being shut down. According to a Sept. 2, 1988, Casper Star-Tribune story, Natrona County officials were in negotiations with the Bureau of Reclamation for the provision of irrigation and sewage water for Alcova School after the BuRec Water Treatment Plant, first opened in 1954, stopped supplying drinking water on Sept. 1 of that year. BuRec also stopped providing sewage water after Jan. 1, 1989.
Another interesting history lies at the heart of Red Creek School. According to a Casper Star-Tribune article written on Aug. 26, 1990, the school celebrated its 100th birthday on Sept. 1 of
that year. The article also noted that Red Creek was frequently called Freeland, which was also the name of the local post office.
In Then And Now, written by Rose Mary Malone, date unknown, the McGraughn family moved to the Bates Hole area (the location of Red Creek School), in 1887 with three daughters. A school was then organized (District No. 3).
On Sept. 1, 1890, the doors were opened to 18 students. At that time accomodations were that of a “one-room log building with split logs for seats and lap desks made by their parents.”
Two unique schools. A total of four dedicated faculty/staff and 12 wonderfully special students. Rural, yes. Forgotten? Not in a hundred years.
|
