Remembering......

Local One-room schools

Oak Grove School  (Beaver Twp., Clark Co., WI)

&

Cloverdale School  (Colby Twp., Clark Co., WI)

From Kris Leonhardt's Owen-Withee Enterprise series

In the early 1900's, two important factors affected the continuity of the instruction pupils received in one-room schools.

The first contributing factor was irregular attendance as school attendance was often worked around harvesting and other farm work.

Records from the 1922-23 school year, show a total of 156,678 students in one-room schools. Of the 156,678 pupils, 49,000 or 31% attended less than 120 days and just 34,000 or 21% attended more than 160 days.

When school started in late September, classes sometimes began with just a few students. As the first week went by, new students would trickle in each day. As the following weeks slid by, more new students would arrive.

When time for the potato harvest arrived, many of the students might be needed at home to help with the work.

During the winter months, more new students would arrive. Some of the new students have just moved to the area, while others worked at home until snow arrived.

When the winter turned to spring, families moved on taking their young children with them. Other students left as they were needed at home for farm work.

The total enrollment for a one room school might amount to 23 students, but the average daily attendance might fall somewhere around 12 or 53%.

The second contributing factor affecting the continuity of instruction was the number of pupils assigned to one teacher in a single school.

According to 1922-23 Wisconsin school records, 381 or 27% of the 1,437 one-room schools employed teachers who were responsible for 46 or more pupils. Today's classrooms average about 25 or so students under the supervision of one teacher.

Diann Shefchik, a former student at the Oak Grove School recalls, "We had between 20 and 30 kids at our school."

Shefchik's 1944-45 school year keepsake book, given to her by her teacher Blanche Schuette, lists 24 students: two in Grade 8, five in Grade 6, three in Grade 5, six in Grade 4, three in Grade 3, one in Grade 2, and four in Grade 1.