Modoc Country Living-The Country School

Modoc Charter School, located in Alturas, was established by charter from MCOE in February 2000. The charter was renewed in 2004 and will be eligible for renewal again in 2009. Modoc Charter School received full Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accreditation in 2006 for a period of six years. Charter schools are funded with a combination state and federal sources and block grants, and are designed to offer more student choices, diverse learning methods, opportunities for greater teacher creativity and more individualized instruction. In 2005-06, Modoc Charter School enrolled 450 students who were taught by 28 teachers, more than doubling its size since establishment.

Today's ESL educational programs grew from the landmark federal Bilingual Education Act of 1968. The act basically provided federal funds to states and school districts nationwide to ensure that all children be ensured equal educational opportunities, regardless of English language proficiency. The ESL programs provide bilingual materials and teachers to prepare students whose primary language is not English for eventual merging into mainstream courses of instruction. According to Census 2000, approximately 22 percent of Modoc County's population was potentially not proficient enough in English to succeed in mainstream school courses. The vast majority of these students are Hispanic, so Modoc's ESL programs are concentrated on Spanish language students. Each district in the county has an ESL program. Although the town of Tulelake and most of Tulelake's country schools are located in Lassen County and not Modoc County, they fall under the jurisdiction of MCOE. Tulelake Basin Joint Unified School District consists of Newell Elementary School in Newell, and Tulelake High School, Tulelake Continuation High School, Tulelake Community Day School, and Tulelake Basin Elementary School all located in Tulelake, California. The district enrolled 565 students with 32 full time teachers in FY 2004-05. A board of five popularly elected trustees provides public governance for the district.

The Modoc Joint Unified School District headquartered in Alturas is the largest district in the county. The district had 1357 students enrolled and 77 full time teachers in FY 2005-06. The district is comprised of the following schools, all located in Alturas:

• Alturas Community Day School
• Alturas Elementary School
• High Desert Community Day School
• Modoc Charter School
• Modoc High School
• Modoc Middle School
• Warner High School

The Modoc Joint Unified School District also includes Arlington Elementary School in Canby, South Fork Elementary School in Likely and State Line Elementary School located in New Pine Creek near the Oregon border. Modoc Joint Unified School District is governed by an elected five member board of trustees.

The other MCOE country school district in Modoc County is the Surprise Valley Unified School District headquartered in Cedarville. All schools in Surprise Valley can be found in Cedarville. The schools are Surprise Valley Elementary, Surprise Valley High School, and Great Basin High School. The district also directs the Community Day School in Cedarville. Enrollment for the district in FY 2005-06 is 172 students, with 17 credentialed teachers.

Although there are no universities or colleges in Modoc County, Lassen College, whose main campus is in Susanville approximately 100 miles south, offers some classes through an outreach center located near Modoc High School in Alturas. Efforts by local educators and community leaders to establish a college or university satellite campus in Modoc County have so far been unsuccessful mainly due to the small population base.

Naturally, distance-learning opportunities exist in Modoc County by way of the Internet, and are offered by numerous colleges and universities. In addition to education and learning opportunities, the Internet also provides technology and communication solutions for Modoc's educators. Some of the resources available to teachers and administrators through the Internet include improved access to state and federal agencies and idea sharing with fellow educators in other locations. The Internet also provides invaluable sources of information such as lesson guides and ideas, materials and other teaching aids. One such incredible web site is SchoolThemes.org which offers motivational material, fundraising information and advice on improving student self-esteem.

Native American Indians, principally bands of the Modoc and Paiute tribes, make up about six percent of Modoc County's population, and enjoy their own limited education resources. The Resources for Indian Student Education (RISE), an Indian Education Center, is located in Alturas. The California Education Code authorizes the establishment of American Indian Education Centers in California. Center staff assist schools with professional development, counseling, tutorial services, and parent education geared to the needs of the Native American community. They also provide supplemental and extended day instructional programs to meet the needs of local Native American students.

Students attending a country school enjoy many unique opportunities that kids in urban and suburban areas do not. However, country school students must also suffer some disadvantages that students in metropolitan area schools generally don't. As with many aspects of country living, there is good news and bad news when it comes to rural education. First the bad news:

There are quite a few problems that are unique to the country school of today. Country schools often suffer low or declining student enrollment that directly impacts funding levels. This problem was first experienced and brought to light by many inner-city schools a few years ago and rural districts are now facing it. The causes of declining enrollment are economic and demographic changes in the population base. As most funding for education is based on student population, many rural school districts now find themselves enrolling fewer students each year and losing funding. When enrollment declines, revenues drop, sometimes dramatically.

Schools and districts with declining enrollment also usually experience an increase in per-pupil costs. That's because many educational expenses are fixed or nearly fixed at a certain student population level, thus districts and schools with declining enrollment are faced with decreased revenue at the same time many educational expenses, such as health care, utilities, and special education are increasing. Enrollment losses are frequently spread over many grade levels, so in the smaller schools found in rural America, the challenges of responding are intensified. An almost immediate fix for funding shortfalls lies in personnel restructuring. That fix for country school planners is made difficult by the very nature of rural area and small town populations. A tightly knit small town environment makes it more difficult to shuffle or reduce staff and teaching positions in order to balance the budget. This situation allows spending cuts to greatly lag the loss of budget dollars. To make matters worse, these districts often have decreasing capacity to generate local revenue such as grants and local taxes to make up for losses in state and federal funding based on enrollment figures.

One of the biggest hits to rural school budgets recently has been reduced funding from the Secure Rural School and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000, commonly known as Payments to States or SRS. The President signed SRS into Public Law on October 30, 2000, and the law is scheduled to expire in 2006 which would eliminate a substantial funding source for rural counties. Payments from the act may be extended, but funding levels will probably continue to decline. The SRS addresses the decline in revenue received from timber harvest on federal land within the counties. The SRS partially makes up for lost county revenues historically received through taxes and other fees associated with logging. Individual counties use the SRS funds for school funding and road construction and maintenance. In addition to stabilizing payments to counties to help maintain roads and fund schools, the SRS provides methods and assistance to develop new projects that enhance forest ecosystem health and provide employment opportunities. The new projects are intended to replace at least some of the lost logging revenue. Modoc County was one of the areas of the country most adversely impacted by the rapid decline in the logging industry in recent years.

Another area for concern in any country school is the difficulty in attracting quality staff and teachers. This problem is made more difficult when schools experience budget shortfalls. The reasons for Modoc's recruiting difficulties are varied and shared with most other rural areas, as well as some metropolitan area schools. While it is common knowledge that the nation experiences an overall shortage of qualified and credentialed teachers, the shortage is more acute and more visible in a country school system. The difficulty in recruiting qualified staff and teachers to the country school environment include low salaries, less than adequate and modern facilities, rural remoteness and the sometimes-claustrophobic small town environment. Another problem area related to recruiting is the view shared by some researchers that rural teachers come from the bottom of the qualification barrel. If they hang on long enough to meet tenure requirements, they are reluctant to leave because of the difficulty in starting over somewhere else. Rural administrators then find it very difficult to replace low performing teachers.

According to data obtained from surveys conducted by Educational Research Service and reported in the August, 2004 Rural Policy Matters (a publication of the Rural School and Community Trust), in fiscal year 2003-04 rural teacher salaries averaged $41,131 compared to $43,460 for small towns and $50,844 for suburban areas. According to California's Education-Data Partnership, the average teacher salary for Modoc Joint Unified School District was $47,587 for fiscal year 2004-05, compared to $53,751 in San Francisco, $53,948 in San Diego and $60,281 in the San Juan Unified School District near Sacramento. While more than 31% of all public schools are in rural areas, and enroll more than eight million students, rural and small town teachers are the lowest paid. (The Competitive Disadvantage-Teacher Compensation in Rural America by Lorna Jimerson as reported on The Rural School and Community Trust web site).

Rural areas are, by their nature, remote. That remoteness can often be overwhelming for someone used to mall shopping, theaters and four-star restaurants close-by, including teachers. Country living in the rural or small town environment, where everyone seems to know everyone else's business, can also be too restrictive for someone used to a metropolitan lifestyle. Whether you're trying to enjoy a dinner out, a Friday night drink at a local club or a night out with a potential significant other, your business is not always your own in the country. This demands a higher standard of dress and decorum be maintained at all times, which may be too restrictive for some seeking employment as an educator.

There are also demographic and environmental problems unique to country schools that may turn-away otherwise interested teachers. Surprisingly, at least to me, the country school student body is often composed of a fair number of underprivileged kids, many on some form of welfare. Some come from broken homes and are being raised by grandparents or a family member other than parent. Others live in homes with domestic violence, sexual harassment by a live-in boyfriend or girlfriend, or are simply being raised in a single-parent household. Because a rural area is usually agriculture-based, a significant number of migrant farm and ranch laborers are attracted. Some kids can barely speak English, as it is not spoken in their homes. A problem that is often debated by education researchers is a lack of after school activities in the rural environment. This is a situation that effects potential students more than teachers, but may also be the decider for someone contemplating teaching at a country school. According to one school of thought, students at country schools often have few options for extra-curriculum activities. Some of the underprivileged students have no dependable transportation. Many farm and ranch families require kids to be at home working when not actually in class. Many single-parent families simply can't accommodate schedules that allow their child to stay late for sporting events, extra academic help or school cultural events. Other researchers disagree, and say that country school children participate in extra-curriculum activities more than their metropolitan counterparts. In any event, after school activities at a country school is an area of concern.

I imagine by now you are asking, "If that's the bad news, how could there possibly be any good news?" There is good news for anyone, student, parent or teacher in a country school, and quite a bit of it. First, rural country school problems are known, well documented and not insurmountable. There are many organizations already at work forming solutions to the problems and shortcomings. Federal, state and local governments as well as non-profit and other organizations have active programs meeting rural education challenges in school funding, staffing, organization and support. The Rural School and Community Trust is just one of the many organizations working to provide responses to many rural school challenges. Their website offers informative articles and links as well as newsletters and research papers relating to many of today's country school issues , and initiatives to counter them. Following are the good news aspects of the country school picture, and some things already happening to improve the country school picture in Modoc County as well as nationwide.

Is the glass half-full or half-empty? Many seemingly negative aspects of the rural education situation can also be seen as positives. In the area of funding shortfalls, the problem is nation-wide and does have solutions. Additionally, many powerful organizations and coalitions continue to work ways to stabilize or increase rural education funding at the state and federal levels. Local city and county governments are also actively pursuing improved school funding. While ballot measures seeking approval of general-purpose school bonds are not too popular, especially in California, they offer one way to improve the country school-funding picture. One positive aspect of a close-knit country community is that people generally are ready to help a neighbor. This is true also when it comes to funding children's education. Another avenue open to local school leaders is government grants including those offered by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Local school officials, including Modoc County educators, are also involved in lobbying efforts to improve funding from SRS. Another effort by local county education offices involves negotiating with state departments of education to restructure formulas for receiving per-pupil funds from the state budget. On the local district level there are ways to improve the budget picture. Perhaps the Modoc County district hardest hit with declining enrollment is Surprise Valley in Cedarville. Surprise Valley High School's graduating senior class last year totaled 12 students. The total enrollment for the district in 2005-06 was 172. These numbers were down from 14 seniors in the previous year with a total district enrollment of 197. Ten years ago, the district's total enrollment was 263. District administrators, with the support of parents, decided to get creative in order to provide adequate education to all remaining students. One of the tactics Surprise Valley administrators used in the face of these declining numbers was class and school restructuring. Some classes common across two or more grade levels were combined to better distribute teacher time.

Probably the number one opportunity that country school students are afforded is smaller schools and smaller class sizes. This usually allows more individualized teaching. Although smaller class sizes (generally accepted to be less than 20 pupils per class) are most beneficial in grades K-3, lesser benefits are felt throughout all grade levels. According to Rural School & Community Trust, children in smaller schools (metropolitan as well as rural) are more academically successful than those in larger schools. They are also more likely to take advanced level courses, and have higher graduation rates. The Rural School & Community Trust researchers also find that country school students are more likely to participate in extra-curricular activities. One of the underlying reasons small is better for education is that small schools and smaller classes provide more intimacy where everybody knows everybody. This intimacy promotes less student discipline problems and instills better confidence and higher self-esteem for both teachers and students. The small classroom environment also promotes reciprocal all-inclusive caring for one another and improves teachers' morale and attitude. The benefits of smaller numbers resonate across the bigger rural education picture. Similar all-inclusive caring dynamics operate between district superintendents and school principals, between principals and teachers, and trickles down to the teacher-student relationship. Simply put, smaller country school numbers translate to more personalization and better academic success.

For fiscal year 2005-06, the Modoc Joint Unified School District enrollment was 1,399 compared to 134,709 in San Diego Unified and 50,089 in San Juan Unified School District near Sacramento. California's statewide average pupil-teacher ratio was 22.3, while Modoc County schools average was 19.3 for the same time period. With a little simple math you can see that when a dedicated teacher divides teaching hours between 19 students as opposed to 22, those hours will go a little further. While this lone statistic doesn't tell the whole story, when coupled with other country school positives, a few extra minutes devoted to kids who need the extra help is invaluable.

Another important positive aspect in a country school is the nearly absent element of crime, drugs and gang influences. Because country schools are most likely located in agriculturally dominant areas of the country, students live an arguably more wholesome lifestyle. Their interests are most likely centered on farming, ranching and raising animals, as opposed to less wholesome activities. Country families are also more likely to be traditional two-parent households, which certainly enhances most kids' learning environment. Certainly, Modoc County is not utopia and country school students are not ignorant of life outside of the rural environment, nor immune to outside influences such as movies, TV and radio. They also have the normal growing pains of any child growing up in the U.S., so suffer some of the same problems that their urban counterparts do.

One solution to teacher and administrator recruitment challenges is to throw money at them, or offer higher salaries. The problem with that solution is that a country school usually does not have any extra money to throw at the problem. Without the ability to offer the highest salaries and compensation packages, hiring bonuses and costly relocation assistance, rural administrators must rely on non-monetary incentives to attract prospective teachers and employees. There are many advantages for educators who work in rural districts. The most significant advantage is the small student base which enables teacher-student ratios beneficial to both learning and teacher enrichment. Modoc's administrators have the tools available to offer qualified educators a trade-off between slightly higher salaries and low teacher-student ratios, clean air and lack of congestion plus a more affordable life-style. Another plus for rural schools is the homegrown educator. Many young high school graduates in Modoc County follow a young adults' almost natural tendency to explore beyond the county line either for college or a stint in military service. A lot of these young people receive teaching degrees and credentials, then return to their roots after an internship in another area. The small school environment also offers its own incentive for educators. In the same way that students in larger classrooms and schools can become lost in the crowd, alienated and negatively motivated, so can teachers. Teachers in a Modoc country school enjoy the same positive dynamics that are afforded by a smaller school environment, as do students. There is more closeness and familiarity among teachers in small schools, so there is naturally more sharing of positive ideas and techniques. The tight-knit nature of rural communities also provides a recruiting tool in country school sports programs. Generally in a small town, high school sports programs are central points of interest. (Ever heard of Friday Night Lights?) This is particularly true in Modoc County. Most residents of Tulelake (Tulelake Honkers), Alturas (Modoc Braves) and Surprise Valley (Surprise Valley Hornets) identify much more with their high school teams than they do with professional teams. All these positives help brighten the picture for country school recruiters.

When it comes to technology, there is one very important equalizer between affluent suburban schools and their country school counterparts, and that is the Internet. Access to the World Wide Web through the Internet offers a cost-effective way for less affluent country schools to stay abreast of technology advances. Rural districts and schools benefit from improved classroom tools and educational aids, and also from improved communication. Electronic links between all levels of rural education is vastly improved through use of email and centrally located databases. The Modoc County Office of Education (MCOE) spearheads an aggressive technology policy for districts and schools. Technology departments are in place in all districts and all schools are connected. The county is also electronically connected to the California Department of Education via the Schools Information System (SIS). Modoc County enjoys a 2.04 student per computer ratio compared to 4.36 statewide. These figures include computers that are accessed by teachers and administrators. Roughly six percent of the county's annual school budget is expended on facilities maintenance, and all campuses are beautifully maintained. Another plus for Modoc's schools as well as most other country schools is that facilities are not victims of rampant vandalism. Except for extremely isolated incidents, graffiti and vandalism are almost non-existent. New school construction is usually not a concern in most rural school districts, including Modoc County, mainly due to a student population that is stagnant or declining.

All these positives are the good news for country schools. Modoc County schools are examples of what you would imagine a typical country school to be like. Although small and rural, the country schools in Modoc are administered by forward-thinking educators and employ teachers dedicated to providing a healthy learning environment for kids.

More Modoc Country Living...

Modoc Country Living-The Country Doctor

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