Thinking beyond the desk

Published January 24, 2013

Stockton Sentinel

Stockton, Kansas

            The small elementary school where my husband began his education has become a shining example of how to keep a small school alive. The tiny town of Walton, located in a farming community in Harvey County about five miles east of Newton, Kansas, is home to the 21st Century Rural Life Center, one of only 17 charter schools in Kansas.

The school, which was in danger of closing its doors in 2007 due to low enrollments, has now more than doubled its enrollment and may need to begin turning students away. They have a waiting list for future years that includes children that are “on the way” but haven’t been born yet.

Where traditional schools use textbooks and repetition, the Rural Life Center is “project-based, hands-on, real life learning,” according to principal Natise Vogt. The school’s emphasis is agriculture, although they aren’t trying to make a whole school of farmers. It is the first public elementary school in the nation to completely incorporate agriculture into its curriculum. The school has a wind turbine that generates power for the school, farm animals, a vegetable garden and greenhouse –– all of which are used in the curriculum.

A typical morning for first grade teacher Johannah Hein includes collecting eggs, feeding cows, goats, sheep and pigs and straightening the barn. Second-graders learn how to clean, weigh, package and market eggs, which the school sells for $2 a dozen. Students also fill orders and decide what to do with the proceeds, which might include buying new hens, feed or hay, or giving money to the Walton food bank.

            The school has gained national and international interest due to their success. The U.S. Department of Education produced a video about Walton’s turnaround, which can be viewed on YouTube. Recently a group from New Zealand visited the school to see how it operates.

            It requires a lot of work and dedication from the entire staff since no printed, pre-planned lesson plans exist. But whatever they are doing, it is working well for them. In 2010, 97% of the students tested at or above grade level in math and 94% tested at or above grade level in reading. Overall, the school is in the top 5% of all elementary schools in Kansas.

            This story is interesting to me for a number of reasons. First, the tiny town of Walton is where my husband grew up, being a student of Walton Elementary until the 7th grade, when his family moved close to the tiny town of Goessel, where I grew up. Both he and I have rural, farming roots.

            Schools everywhere –– especially our small, rural schools –– have to become creative and take whatever initiative is necessary to remain viable and keep the doors open. Walton’s “21st Century” model is a wonderful example of that kind of forward thinking.