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Show IMMMMMMKM I by MARIE HOEFFNER Photos by Kurt Wilson a . v. -- Ns "V. .sajgg . , -- Little School Prairie Jt, . r IhichiF Donna Ftodior The hand-run- g bell in the short bell tower at Trinity School has rung generations of children into class for mote than a hundred years. Youngsters still learn to read, write, add, and subtract under the same roof that has sheltered students since 1893. the day begins when one child raises the Strs and Stripes while leading die Pledge ' of Allegiance. It's a reward for them to lead the pledge says Donna Fischer, the lone teacher. And, with just three students, that reward is Sequent. After the pledge, the one and two rs take turns ringing the bell, then race inside to begins day of studies in the son of school that educated America since before the nation was bom. They do fight over it (the bell), though, Fischer says with a grin. The school in Canyoo Creek, Mont. a ranching community of about 200 people may be an anachro- -. nism in this age of consolidated school districts, but the students don't mind it a bit. The school's small size means die teacher and her students are a dose-kn- it family At recess, Fisdier plays or basketball right along kickball, first-grad- . third-grade- er ? v Joins In : ed school uritfi Just thvoo students this jms community. Volunteer firefighters and the valley's 4-H youths meet there. Although class is held in one room, the kindere school also has a computer garten through room and a small gymnasium. ' y Fischer, who does everything from opening and dosingthesdiool to answering the phone to warming up meals, is determined to prepare students for the Kaylas favorite subject games at recess. She even plays foot and geese with us," Kayla laughs. The little school, named for a bygone mining camp chat once thrived nearby, is still surrounded by the golden hayfields of some of Montanas oldest family ranches, along with ' panoramic vistas of the Continental Divide. It has a very good teacher, computers, and a good library. Everything is automated. There's even a satellite dish, says Earl Wohl-froKayla MMa eat lunch InTHnkytgym, wNdi doubloa aa a a local rancher and 1944 m, Trinity graduate. Because afthe state's vast expanses and agricultural economy country schools such as Trinity one of die srarefr oldest functioning elementary schools ore for from extinct. Montana today boasts about 113 schools with 40 or fewer students. is die heart of . sixth-grad- T1 challenges they'll meet . VI district enuusHCO IMS with the teacher includes i mam attho with her students. After all, without het; die children wouldn't have teamsAt lunch, she needed children's lunches and then joins the warms if diem at the large rectangular table in the gymnasium. We talk about what we're doing at home or what we did last night," Fischer says. After lunch, each one wipes up after themselves and one is assigned to sweep the floor beesuse we don't have a custodian evety day Her students agree that the school's small size allows them each mote time with the teacher And we help each other Out, says Kayla Mills, 7. Time ntnrrr school Trinity School wM.'W j iM'aifcw beyond Trinitys familiar surroundings. I want them to have confidence; to believe in themselves, Fisdier says. State test results prove rani school students do as well scholastically as peas in larger schools, even with . fewer resources, says Claudette Morton, Montana Smidl Schools Alliance executive director Catherine Coleman says her granddaughter; Kayla, excels in Trinity's comfortable setting. She die gets attention she needs, says Coleman, a school board member. Unfortunately, a roster that fluctuates between three and 25 students makes survival tough, as many parents.opt fo take their children' to larger schools in Helena where they work. But residents view die school as an important part oftheir heritage, says Ride Grady, a Trinity alumni and school board president. They have raised axes, repaired leaky . pipes, and painted to keep Trinity School alive. ' Grady, whose father, grandfather; and two children attended Trinity, says the community is determined the school will not dose. It would be a loss to the community .. a loss of identity. third-generati- on v Canyon Creek. The communitys most anticipated events are held . there including plays and graduations. People voce or speak out" at WrttvMarkHajfalhmMaTwdintyimtMim, ui&belmsbtndMdtbmcbiUfm. town meetings an issues facing their 1 V |
