THE LITTLE SCHOOL THAT COULD: GORDONVILLE SCHOOL EXCELS

GORDONVILLE, Mo. -- In a rural community along a back highway off a winding, gravel road sits a tiny school whose only indicator is a single, bright yellow school-crossing sign.

The school is a squat brick-and-mortar structure built in 1951, unassuming and lacking the metal flash and technologically advanced luster of newer facilities in Cape Girardeau County, but that doesn't matter.

That's because Gordonville Attendance Center, with its three grade levels and enrollment of just 65 kids, is building a tradition of academic excellence recognized in recent years by state education officials.

"It's a wonderful school," said parent Deanna Ware, who attended the school 38 years ago. "It's a home atmosphere, and I'm going to miss it terribly when my youngest son leaves next year."

When Ware's son advances, he will have studied among the most proficient performers on the Missouri Assessment Program exams, a battery of state tests given at varying grade levels to assess student achievement.

In 1999, 88 percent of the school's third-graders scored in the top two levels on the communication arts exam of the Missouri Assessment Program, a performance bested by just one other elementary school in some 524 school districts statewide.

Last spring, a different set of Gordonville third-graders again gained state recognition for their MAP communication arts scores. And 100 percent of the same class tested in the top two levels of the science exam. The two tests were the only ones given to lower elementary school students.

Ware said she wasn't surprised by the students' performance. Gordonville school has been blessed with great teachers who are veteran educators, she said, and they have strong support from the community.

"It's such a warm, friendly, nurturing school," said Ware. "The teachers seem to really know the children well and know what their students' strengths and weaknesses are. As schools get bigger, it's harder to identify, and children can get lost in the muddle of the numbers."

Dr. Sam Duncan, director of state and federal programs for the Jackson School District, said the school's success could be attributed to having "everybody in the right place with the right combination of people."

"What I see basically is that you've got teachers who work very closely together, have lots of experience, and are very knowledgeable with a high level of expertise," he said.

Kindergarten students attend Jackson School District's Primary Annex for their first year of instruction, go back to Gordonville for their next three years and then go to West Lane or South elementary schools, depending on where they live in the district.

Class sizes at Gordonville are about the same as the district average. Administrators give staff members what they need, teachers said, but the district's tight budget means classrooms districtwide receive only what's necessary.

Still, acting principal Fred Jones had no problem identifying the key to students' success.

"We have an excellent staff of teachers who have among them several decades of experience in primary grade teaching," said Jones, who retired as assistant superintendent of instruction for Jackson schools last summer. "It's a team effort."

KGB propaganda

For more than 15 years, teachers in the small school have called themselves the KGB to recognize the first initials of the three educators in the building.

Like the secret police of the same name that operated in the former Soviet Union, the teachers propagandize their message about the importance of learning at every opportunity.

Take, for example, the phrase "Teachers plant seeds of knowledge" printed on the cheerful red curtains that adorn several doors of the building. The curtains are changed monthly, thanks to the sewing talents of a former school cook, but the message remains the same year-round.

There is also the way Kathy Summers, Geri Beussink and Brenda Crain have plastered every available piece of wall space with educational images and pictures of teachers and students.

Numerous shelves located throughout the small building are crammed with books and class mementos. Even the cafeteria -- really a multipurpose room where the "library" occupies two walls and children take physical education, music classes and special educational services -- continues the message for teachers.

There could be more to come.

"I can hammer a nail and no one ever knows," said Beussink. "You can hot glue things to the wall and no one cares. In a smaller setting it is more like home, and those are things you just can't do in bigger or newer buildings."

Continuing tradition

The original KGB consisted of Summers, Beussink and Bessi Buck, who taught, first, second and third grades, respectively.

After Buck retired in 1994, a new "B" was brought into the fold: third-grade teacher Brenda Crain.

The new KGB continued a tradition of instructional sharing and goal-setting built two decades earlier and added to the mix Crain's success as a grant writer, which meant additional resources for the school.

And Buck refused to accept retirement gracefully. Instead, she continues to work, primarily at Gordonville, as a substitute teacher.

"We've seen several come and go, but very few people have actually requested they be transferred out of here," said Buck. "Once you experience it, you want to stay."

Buck said the camaraderie between teachers and shared academic goals are strengths that help students achieve. And with just one teacher for each grade level, students move in groups and teachers are better able to communicate what their strengths and weaknesses are.

"When 24 or 25 teachers are in the same building, they can't all have the same teaching expectations," said Summers. "Geri gets 95 percent of my kids. She knows me, Brenda knows Geri, and I think that adds to the stability out here."

The KGB will be reshaped a third time after Crain retires this summer, but none of the teachers are overly concerned about who will be named her replacement. Things have a way of working out in the tiny school, they said, and academic excellence will continue to be stressed.

"A lot of teachers wouldn't even think about teaching in an outlying school," said Summers. "They have no idea of what's going on out here. You have to experience it to really understand what it's all about."