Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1205100
8 | WEAnews Set against rugged, snowy mountains and unsettled frontier, the Slack schoolhouse is busy, warm, and inviting. The cozy one-room school is one of the last of its kind in America; it is the only one-room schoolhouse still in use in Sheridan County. In operation for more than 100 years, today Slack School serves a class of four students. "They have a brotherhood here; we've got four boys here this year," teacher Brooke Johnson told WEA News, "they fight like brothers, they love like brothers. I love the sense of family here." A National Board Certified Teacher, Mrs. Johnson has been teaching in Sheridan County for nine years, three of them here at Slack. Johnson tells WEA News that teaching across grade levels, in such a unique classroom, has expanded her skills and contributed to her philosophy as a teacher. "I've gotten a better understanding of what learning is over time. I used to teach isolated skills, and I didn't really understand how they would fit in later," said Johnson. "Overall, it's given me more of a holistic view of what learning is." But, Johnson shares, teaching at Slack has its challenges. "It can sometimes be difficult to make sure that I fit it all in: music, art writing, reading, math. I have to be mindful to ensure that I cover everything and," adds Johnson, "that it conforms to the academic rigor that my students need and deserve." Once a week, a piano teacher visits Slack to teach, and a community volunteer—an art major and former teacher—provides a few hours of arts education each week, as well. Other than Mrs. Johnson, there are no staff members at Slack. But, there are two very unorthodox visitors welcome in her classroom each day; a graying black lab named Gunny and a Basset Hound puppy named Copper. "I have a Basset Hound, and his name is Copper like off of Fox and the Hound," shared second-grader Marlis Johnson, "and then the other one is Gunny. He's teaching Copper 21st Century Education in an 18th Century School: Inside One of America's Last One-Room Schoolhouses By: Amanda Turner Slack Student with Gunny.