Some students ride in on snowmobiles. One is delivered on a sled, pulled by a parent. Others trudge through the knee-high snowdrifts on foot after leaving the warmth of a four-wheel drive vehicle. The 13 students - ranging in age from 6 to 13 - dust off snowflakes from the storm outside and settle in. School is now in session in their one-room schoolhouse.

 

Trisha Fedderly checks in students at the end of physical education class on the slopes

 

Under the watchful gaze of teacher Trisha Fedderly and Rascal the cat, the students quietly get to work without being told to. Some write in their journals while others answer questions about a book they have read. Because their teacher has responsibility for so many age groups and curriculums, the students are used to working independently.

 

Bear Valley School is located off Highway 4 in the Sierra. The small community of Bear Valley, which boasts of having the most snowfall in the Sierra, has had a K-8, one-room schoolhouse since 1969.

 

Trisha Fedderly helps 1st-grader Matthew Berning with language arts.

 

While one-room schoolhouses are an old-fashioned concept, Bear Valley School is a thoroughly modern, spacious facility. Its design resembles a chalet more than a school, with high-beamed ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows. Two separate teaching areas wrap around an inviting living room setting, complete with couches and a wood-burning stove. A spacious alcove houses a library and computer lab. Downstairs is a gym with a Ping-Pong table and half-size basketball court. However, for 10 weeks during the winter, physical education requirements are met on the ski slopes.

 

Fedderly has been the teacher there for 14 years. When the school's population numbered in the 30s, she and her husband, Jim, were team teachers at the school. He retired three years ago and she plans on retiring next year.

 

The town's - and thus the school's - population constantly fluctuates as people move in to find seasonal work in the resort town. Presently the school serves a first-grader, two second-graders, a third-grader, a fourth-grader, two fifth graders, three sixth-graders and three eighth-graders. Two students, the offspring of ski instructors, are newly arrived from Australia. Another student, whose father fixes skis, is freshly transplanted from Bulgaria.

 

"I'm the best juggler in town," says Fedderly, when asked to describe how she teaches so many age groups. "I try to group them ability-wise to save time and energy. Somehow it works. I have to spend a lot more time with the first- and second-graders, because they ask a lot more questions. The sixth- and eighth-graders are pretty independent, and do a lot of reading and writing assignments on their own. The kids have been taught to pay attention when I've giving directions. They know where to find information if I'm not available. And a first-grader can go to an eighth-grader if I'm not available."

 

Because she doesn't have time to give a separate lesson for every grade level on every subject, Fedderly tries to combine subject matter when she can. Students may be reading the same book, but be on different pages. Some curriculum, such as California history in social studies, is only covered every other year. However, because of the small class size, students get lots of one-on-one attention.

 

Fresh powder at Bear Valley School means a 'downhill day' for physical education class.

 

"Their test scores are quite good," says Fedderly, a member of the Alpine County Teachers Association (ACTA). "When students leave after eighth grade, they traditionally max out on their test scores. They usually score at the 10th or 12th grade level on a test. But I don't think it's me; it's the situation. They learn a lot from helping each other. I can't take credit for that. I give credit to the fact that it's an ideal situation for teaching."

 

Despite the wide range of ages, the students get along quite well. Fedderly likens it to one big family - there may be some occasional squabbles, but no major discipline problems.

 

"One of the problems is that they act like brothers and sisters. They know everything about each other and tell each other what to do. I have to remind them that it's not their job to tell little Johnny what he's doing wrong. That's my job. But the smallness of the school makes it easier to keep track of what's going on. Children reinforce to their peers what is acceptable behavior and what is not. And older students know that certain language is not acceptable around first- and second-graders."

 

The students say that there are more advantages than disadvantages to attending a one-room schoolhouse.

 

"It's definitely different," says Shealyn McMullen, 13. "I like the one-on-one with the teacher."

 

"I like it; I feel I'm learning a lot," says Daniel Green, 13, whose family recently moved to Bear Valley from Australia. "But there are not enough people. I'm used to a school with 800 people."

 

Most students say that the best part about school is taking ski lessons for 10 weeks during the year. The students alternate between skiing cross-country and downhill at Bear Valley Mountain Resort two days a week. "I had one student ask whether it was going to be an uphill day or downhill day," Fedderly recalls with a laugh.

 

"It's so fun," says Matthew Berning, age 6. "I've gone from the bunny hill to the rope tow to the cub chair lift. I've gotten really good."

 

"Skiing is the only physical education program that the district pays for," says Fedderly. "We have no football team. We have no basketball team. We don't have after-school sports. So the district doesn't mind paying for skiing to allow children to meet the PE requirement."

 

After an early lunch at 11, students change into their ski clothes and ride the bus to the ski resort for a "downhill" day. It's still snowing heavily. As they wait in line for their rental skis, Fedderly says, "It's good for you to ski in this weather. You've had lots of nice days of skiing, but you need to know what it's like in not-so-nice weather."

 

She makes sure everyone has goggles and mittens, and turns them over to professional ski instructors at the resort. Then they are assigned classes based on ability. Many of the advanced students are able to go down "black diamond" expert runs with ease.

 

Despite the harsh weather and poor visibility, they leave Fedderly with happy cries in a cloud of fresh powder. After an hour and a half on the slopes, the school regroups. Some students will travel back to school, then return home. Others opt to ski for the rest of the afternoon and be picked up by their parents.

 

While a one-room school may be a novelty, an even more unusual school is housed in the Bear Valley School site - a one-student high school. For four hours every day, 15-year-old Elysia Ulrich receives private instruction from teacher Joe Ahearn, an ACTA member. Ahearn is also helping teach the eighth-graders algebra.

 

Ahearn and another teacher who is based in Markleeville and has five students were hired as team teachers. They collaborate on the Internet with their lessons. Next year they hope to videoconference lessons.

 

Without her own high school, Ulrich would have to drive two hours each way to a school in Angels Camp. She prefers the individualized instruction.

 

"It works for me," says Ulrich, an Olympic hopeful and a self-described "race brat" on the ski slopes.

 

"We're getting another student from Australia on Monday," she says. "I think it will be nice to have another student in my school."