Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 27, 1994 TAG: 9411290024
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-16 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MELISSA DeVAUGHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FLOYD LENGTH: Long
One little girl helps Stovall strum the guitar, while two others wrestle over Stovall's wide-brimmed leather hat. Three children draw pictures, while the rest of the kids sing along to the songs, making animal noises to the folk song "I Had a Rooster."
Downstairs, another parent, Dr. David Lander, shows the 4- and 5-year-olds in the Shooting Stars and the little ones under 4 in the Tummy Tum Tums eight little puppies in a box. Lander's 4-year-old son, Max, instructs the children on how to handle the pups and promises everyone they can have one if they're nice. A little red-haired boy carries his puppy around like a baby, and announces to anyone who will listen, "See, this one's a boy!"
This is Blue Mountain School, tucked away on eight secluded acres only a mile from the town of Floyd. Here, children have learned in an open, inviting atmosphere for the past 13 years in a place that has become more like a second home than a school.
"Since so much of the community is in a rural setting, it's not such an abrupt change for the younger students to come here," said parent Virginia Nathan, referring to the wood-sided building that sits in a forest of white pines. "It's like they're still at home, only they're interacting with other children."
The teachers at Blue Mountain School use the whole language approach - teaching many concepts such as math, science, reading and writing while studying one subject.
For instance, Jeanne Hart's No Limits Class studied math while building bird feeders, switched to science when learning about the birds that use the feeders and refined their research skills while reading and writing about the different birds found in the area.
The whole language concept is widely used, even in public schools, but at Blue Mountain, the teachers take it one step further.
"We are child-cued," said Rima Forrest, a parent who serves as a part-time administrator at the school. "That means we try to listen to the kids, to what they want and need."
Teachers don't use textbooks - only current children's literature.
The children also learn through hands-on activities whenever possible.
That additional effort has attracted a small but growing number of parents who think it is important to let children be children.
"You have to think from a child's point of view and try not to stifle their activity," said Stovall, whose 5-year-old son, Atticus, attends the school. "We can't forget the value of play and interaction between children. That's why I like Blue Mountain because it really does encourage the creative aspect of childhood."
Stovall often helps out during classes by sharing music with the children. "I like to incorporate the kids' behavior into what I'm doing," he said. "They can't always follow rules and regulations. That's one thing the public schools don't allow because they are too crowded and they couldn't get anything done without rules."
Nathan, whose children, 5-year-old Ian and 3-year-old Laurel, attend the school, likes the small pupil-to-teacher ratio.
With only 35 pupils, the four teachers are able to learn more about each child's likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses. The small classes are more conducive to learning, too, Nathan added.
Public schools have sought to reduce pupil-teacher ratios for years, recognizing that pupils fare better in a classroom with fewer children.
"The smaller classes are the major plus for me," said teacher Susannah Jacobs, who received her master's degree in education from Virginia Tech and has student-taught in public schools. "I've been able to get to know the kids better and I think since they get a lot more individual attention, their self-esteem is better. They seem very happy."
Nathan also likes the opportunity for parents to become involved in their children's education.
The parents take the place of a School Board by "hiring teachers, reviewing curriculum, running the school and being involved in the educational process," Nathan said. The only administrator is Forrest. A governing body, called the School Council, is made up of parents. Parents also help clean the school, balance the books, teach and raise funds.
Teachers are used to the parents' presence in the schools, and plan their lessons so that teaching is a shared effort.
"I see parents all the time," said Jacobs, who teaches the third and fourth grades. "That's part of this school, that's what makes it so different and so special."
With such a small group of children, the staff of Blue Mountain School can respond to their individual needs daily.
"Once I got my class, I was able to gauge where each child was," said Hart, a Cornell University graduate who moved to Floyd County from New York and now teaches the 5-, 6- and 7-year-olds at Blue Mountain. "We use what we have available - birds, plants, animals and other outdoor things," to teach different concepts.
Running a small alternative school offers the teachers great freedom, but it has its price, too, Jacobs said. The school operates on a very tight budget, which varies year to year depending on the number of pupils.
Three community fund-raisers - the fall and spring Barter Faire at the Pine Tavern and the Blue Mountain Auction - bring in about $6,000 a year. Other money comes from tuition (from $85 per month to $125 a month, depending on the child's age) and donations. The teachers make between $6 and $7 an hour - that's a fraction of the average Floyd County teacher salary of $25,800 a year.
Despite its financial challenges, Blue Mountain has become a stronghold in the community and continues to change and grow each year.
"Perhaps the school was a little more exclusive when it started," Nathan said. "The parents were mostly artisans."
Now, the children who attend Blue Mountain are as varied as the child-art hanging on the walls. They come from Montgomery, Floyd and Roanoke counties. They are the children of doctors, farmers, artists and accountants. They are as young as 3 and sometimes stay until they reach their teens. Then it's on to the public high schools.
"Eighth grade was my first year at a public school," said 19-year-old Amara Franko, who attended Blue Mountain for seven years. "It was a shock, but I had reached the point where I wanted to meet new people and I didn't feel like the academic challenge would be that hard.
"I think Blue Mountain prepared me better [than public elementary schools] because I wasn't burned out on school by eighth grade," Franko said. "So many people say they are sick of school by the time they reach high school, but Blue Mountain wasn't really like school for me."
As Blue Mountain School looks ahead to its 14th year, Nathan said it will depend on one ingredient that has kept it alive since it opened in 1981.
"One thing that has remained the same," she said. "These are all parents who are very concerned about their children's education."
by CNB