Copyright Boulder Daily Camera
Starting the school year with a single class of 11 students, Gold Hill Elementary classroom teacher Chrissy Maedke redesigned the two-classroom historic building so students continue to have similar spaces as in bigger schools. The Boulder Valley mountain school, nestled along a dirt road in Sunshine Canyon about 10 miles above Boulder, has a large main room divided into multiple spaces, including a theater area with neon signs, a music and art space, and a building blocks and games corner. A long table gives the whole group a place to sit together, while a large oval rug serves a similar purpose. Maedke’s classroom has a quieter feel, with tables for students in the middle and a reading space in the back with a teepee, log seat and cozy rug that’s also a favorite spot of the school rabbit. Her room also houses a bee box by one window and a metal trough near a another here students grow cherry tomatoes. A third, smaller room is used as the principal’s office and kitchen, while a nearby field is loaned to the school for outdoor games through an informal agreement with a private owner. Books are everywhere, while treasures collected over the years are scattered throughout: large puppets, a turtle shell and skull, a massive chunk of quartz, previous theater props. Less obvious, but no less treasured, are the stacks of photo albums and scrapbooks she’s compiled that document the school’s and town’s long histories. “I want them to know ‘this is my place, this is where I belong,’ ” Maedke said. “I want school to feel like another home.” Gold Hill Elementary has operated continuously since 1873, despite repeated threats of closure — and from at least two fires. Historical records suggest enrollment peaked at 94 students in 1889, though records are missing for a roughly 40-year span. Over the past decade, enrollment fluctuated from a high of 26 students in fall 2015 to a low of 10 students last fall. Gold Hill, like the rest of the district’s schools, saw enrollment drop after the pandemic. And, so far, the school’s numbers haven’t bounced back, with the biggest loss coming from Boulder families who previously open enrolled. The town, too, has seen changes since the pandemic. Older residents are aging in place. Those who do sell often get the highest price from those looking for a vacation home, not a full time residence. “We need to protect our rural communities,” Maedke said. “And to protect our rural communities, we need to protect our rural schools. I’m very proud of what we have to offer here. It’s a special place.” This fall, the third year of enrollment of less than 15 students, was the first time in many years that the school has had a single teacher. That means Maedke, now in her 18th year as a Gold Hill teacher and resident, is juggling standards and lessons for kindergarten through fifth grade — though her current students are concentrated in the upper grades. There’s one kindergartner, no first graders, three second graders, four third graders, two fourth graders and one fifth grader. Two of the students are Maedke’s own children. Organizing fundraisers and school events is another facet of her job, from the fall fundraiser to a Halloween maze to the big spring musical with elaborate costumes and props that’s a much-loved community tradition. “There’s a whole lot rolled into it,” she said. “People are invested in this school. They’re willing to participate in anything we have going on. We try really hard to keep everybody involved and happy. It’s always been a bit of a juggling act. It’s just stretching a little more.” Helping make it all work is Christine Kuebler, a part-time instructional paraeducator and part-time office manager, and Maedke’s husband, Dan Maedke, a frequent classroom volunteer, PTO president and school custodian. Principal Jess Seevers, who also oversees Jamestown and Flatirons elementary schools, is at the school around half a day once a week. Traveling teachers provide art and music instruction plus special education and literacy support. The goal for next year is to recruit more Boulder families to bolster enrollment, which already includes three children from two families who send their children up from Boulder. Chrissy Maedke plans to attend the school district’s upcoming “BVSD is the Place to Be” enrollment event and is organizing a Gold Hill open house for Dec. 12. While the school’s remote location may seem daunting, she added, transportation is available through The Climb, a public bus managed by Via that picks up at the base of the canyon. Whatever the student numbers, Chrissy Maedke said, the school provides a unique educational experience. Older students mentor younger ones, while the multi-age classrooms and small class sizes allow the teachers to individualize their instruction based more on students’ needs than grade levels. The school has long used an experiential program that includes project-based learning and about 30 field trips a year, culminating in an end-of-year, all-school camping trip. When students learn about the watershed, for example, they work with water engineers and geologists. “I want the kids to see themselves as future scientists and writers and explorers,” Maedke said. “Learning from these professionals, it’s fun, and there’s so much learning that happens.” Sophie Buis, a third grader who lives close enough to walk, said she likes the nature walks and “all the fun math.” Classmate Summit Featheringill is all about the wildlife. “The cool thing about being in a mountain school is you get to see a lot of animals,” he said. For fifth grader Zelda Bar-Evan, her favorite part of school is all the plays, adding it’s “kind of nice to have a tiny school.” “You get to do a lot more field trips and a lot more fun stuff,” she said. “Mountain schools are the best.” On a recent sunny afternoon, Chrissy Maedke led a math lesson on decimals for three students in her classroom, warning her students she wanted to “flex your brains” before giving them a tough problem. She used songs to remind them of math facts and concepts, including singing “should I stay or should I go” as they decided how to round their answers. On the playground, Dan Maedke worked with five students on skip counting through hopscotch games with chalk drawn numbers. At the main room table, Kuebler helped the kindergartener string different colored beads for a counting exercise. Over in the third room, traveling literacy and special education teacher Brian Schultz worked with the remaining two students. Schultz, who provides virtual consultations if needed when he’s not there, handles much of the special education and literacy plan testing, documentation and paperwork. When there aren’t as many people available, Chrissy Maedke follows a similar method as other, bigger Boulder Valley classrooms for literacy and math instruction: She works with a small group of students on a specific skill while the rest work independently, often using computer programs to reinforce skills. Kuebler often works directly with the kindergartner but helps out wherever needed. For the project-based science and social studies lessons, the whole group learns together. “We’re just going to meet them where they are,” she said. “I’m always looking at what is their next best step.” Maedke said meeting district learning benchmarks is the minimum she wants for her students. Along with leaving Gold Hill with the needed knowledge and skills, she said, she wants her students to have the self confidence to succeed wherever they end up. “Really, we want the kids to be learners,” she said. “We want them to questions and wonder and explore.”
