Page 17 - Flathead Beacon // 5.27.2015

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MAY 27, 2015 | 17
solitary celebration of rural Montana and the richness of its spirit and heri- tage, it keeps Ms. Sheets on her toes.
The workload is just as heavy wheth- er she has one student or 15, and while the school’s district clerk, Ann Marie Beck- er, helps out with administrative work, Sheets is in charge of planning the cur- riculum, filing state and federal reports, administering tests, reporting directly to the state Office of Public Instruction and the Flathead County Superinten- dent of Schools, Jack Eggensperger.
She also attends the school board meetings – Case’s father, Jeremy, is on the three-member board and also coaches his tee-ball team, the Dukes – and lives in the cozy teacher’s quarters adjacent to the school with her Karelian bear dog, Casey.
This school year was her first at Pleasant Valley, and her third year as a teacher. Having spent two years teaching at Heart Butte, she’s familiar
with rural schools.
“I was actually pleasantly surprised
when I came to interview with all of the resources here,” she said.
Indeed, the schoolhouse, which has Internet, is decidedly more progressive than the original Pleasant Valley School.
The first Pleasant Valley School opened in 1903 in an old railroad cabin – the Great Northern Railway’s main east to west line from Kalispell to Libby ran through Pleasant Valley from 1892-1904 – but after two years it was moved about two miles east, where it sat until 1914. From 1914 to 1960, the Pleasant Valley School was situated near the junction of Lost Prairie Road and the old railroad grade, and for years School District 27 had two one-room schoolhouses.
“In my time we had two schools, one was Pleasant Valley and the oth- er was called Lost Prairie School, but they never operated at the same time,” Monk said. “You would go from school
to school and whichever school had the most kids close by, that would be the school that was open.”
When Monk attended school, the class size hovered around eight stu- dents, and sometimes dropped as low as five. In years past, the school has closed occasionally due to low or non-existent attendance. District rules say that at least two students from separate fami- lies must attend Pleasant Valley School for it to remain open.
In the case of Case, the school board made an exception because the budget had already been approved.
“It’s been very rewarding. With Case being the only student, he’s been phe- nomenal,” Sheets said. “He adjusted re- ally well, he integrates with other stu- dents on field trips and at tee-ball and swimming lessons, and he enjoys the one-on-one time. He’s a character. He makes me laugh every day.”
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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:
Case Metzler kicks a soccer ball in the gym at Pleasant Valley School.
Metzler wields a butterfly net on the school playground.
Metzler looks at caterpillars with his teacher Richelle Sheets.
Metzler chases a butterfly at Pleasant Valley School.
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“It’s been very rewarding. With Case being the only student, he’s been phenomenal ... He’s a character. He makes me laugh every day.” - RICHELLE SHEETS