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Those who own one-room schools, anyone who ever attended one or those just excited about history are invited to join a new organization in Southwest Missouri. KSMU’s Michele Skalicky has more…
A new organization in Southwest Missouri is geared toward preserving one-room schools in the Ozarks. David Burton, civic communication specialist with the University of Missouri Extension, has been working on rural school history in Greene County for about ten years. This summer, he spoke at the national meeting of the Country Schools Association of America. That’s where he learned about regional country schools associations that are active in several states…
"And it just kind of inspired me to think that we could do the same type of thing here, that we could have that same type of program and regional success, that there is a model for that success and, hopefully, we can bring that national model here and have similar success."
According to Burton, the Ozarks Country School Association is designed to be a network in the region for individuals and groups that are working on efforts related to one-room schools…
"We're just trying to create a network where we can all learn from each other's successes and failures and also provide a regional area where we can do regular quarterly or yearly educational workshops that can benefit all these different efforts."
There are 52 one-room schools remaining in Greene County—four were lost in the last year. Burton hopes the new association will benefit the remaining one-room schools in the Ozarks…
"What I have seen at the national conference, organizations that have formed like this elsewhere in the United States, they have had more success fundraising as a regional group, they've had more success in identifying and saving historic schools, and they've had more success in getting people excited about the concept and excited about preserving these schools for community centers. It seems like there's a little strength in numbers or certainly more excitement in numbers in using a regional concept, and so we hope to replicate that sort of excitement here in the Ozarks."
According to Burton, the Ozarks Country School Association plans to hold a two-day regional conference next September. The group is open to anyone across Southwest Missouri. Burton hopes it will foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of the one-room school experience here in the Ozarks.To learn more about the association and about upcoming programs and displays about the group and one-room schools, visit extension.missouri.edu/greene.For KSMU News, I’m Michele Skalicky.
