Peter E. Pflaum - Golden Globe -
The Synergy Network
Wiredbrain Pflaump@wiredbrain.com
225 Robinson Road
New Smyrna Beach, Florida 32169
(904) 428-9609
November 1, 1991
Director
National Rural (small school) Education Association
230 Education Building
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO. 80523-0001
Dear Director:
As a graduate student (master's), Educational Leadership,
University of Central Florida, Orlando, I am researching small
schools. Hopefully this topic will be approved for a thesis. Your
association may help me in this research. I admire efforts and results
of you and your colleagues in locating and studying existing one-
teacher schools.
For 10 years I taught language arts in public schools
(elementary, secondary, and adult continuing education) in Florida and
in the Virgin Islands. My husband has taught in colleges for 20
years. He holds a Ph.D. in public administration with a master's in
education.
Florida reports zero public one-teacher schools. Our eight-year
old daughter, however, attends a nonpublic one-teacher school in New
Smyrna Beach, a city of approximately 25,000. We think there maybe
300 small (under 50 students and three teachers) non-public schools in
Florida and up to 10000 in the nation. As parents and educators, my
husband and I are extremely pleased with this unusual educational
opportunity. We visit the school frequently, have daily contact with
the teacher, and enjoy a family atmosphere in this school community.
The teacher is apparently typical of many one-room school
teachers regarding educational attainment, reasons for choosing to
teach in a small school, and other personal and professional
characteristics.
The school population is 10. SES of children
reflects what one expects to find in local public schools. This is a
Christian school; 4 of the children attend or belong to the sponsoring
church.
I am interested in identifying one-teacher nonpublic schools in
Florida, and perhaps continuing with a national search. If not enough
Florida schools exist for study, I will include slightly larger
multigrade nonpublic schools of two or three rooms. A basic question
in this research is determining if there are a significant number of
small nonpublic schools other than the Amish and the Mennonites.
The
purpose of this research is to see if there is a current trend toward
establishment of small nonpublic schools in towns, rural, and even
urban areas.
Letter to NREA - 11/17/92
Many private and parochial day care centers seem to be adding
kindergarten and some lower elementary grades. In "
The One Room
School Lives!" (Principal, September 1985), Andrew Gulliford mentions
36 Lutheran one-room schools in Wisconsin (1983-84). My brother-in-
law and his wife send their children to a three-room nonpublic
multigrade school in a small town outside of Gainesville, Florida.
Since my husband and I have chosen a similar avenue, we wonder if this
is merely coincidental.
It would be interesting to determine if there is a trend toward
small nonpublic schools in towns and urban areas. I have some ideas
of how to locate this population but have not yet reached that stage
in research.
* Do you know of researchers who have attempted to locate small
nonpublic schools? I do have some of Dr. Mark Dewalt's
information (Susquehanna University). State departments of
education vary in available information as evidenced by your
efforts to locate one-room public schools across America,
especially in Nebraska.
* Florida reported 1 public one-teacher school in 1980 and 1984.
Dr. Dewalt reported zero such schools in Florida in 1985, 1986,
and 1987. I would like to know the location of the Florida
school reported by you and your colleagues in 1984.
* Information or ideas you could send regarding methods of
identifying nonpublic one-teacher (or slightly larger) schools,
would be greatly appreciated.
* Is it possible to obtain your entire 1984 list of public one-
teacher schools?
* I am interested in joining associations such as the National
Rural Education Association. Are there others that may be
helpful?
Thank you very much for any assistance.
Sincerely,
Mary Anne Watkins