feature story
Beallsville School Works to Instill Hope and Purpose BY CASEY TOLZDA
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eallsville is a rural school in the Switzerland of Ohio Local School District. In 2015 the school was nearly closed due to low numbers, but was able to remain open. I serve as the K-12 Principal of this public school in a unique area. I am sure not too many people are the principal of a K-12 campus, but I find myself in that situation. Regardless of how small the size of the school is, juggling K-12 responsibilities is never easy. The school is close-knit, housing only about 325 total students. As a student I attended Beallsville, taught here, then left to be a principal in various locations. When the opportunity to “come home� presented itself, I took it without hesitation. I am now in my second year as the K-12 principal at the Beallsville campus. The school and community have been through a lot. After the temporary closure, many students open enrolled in fear the school would close permanently. Many of those students never returned. During that tenure, Beallsville went through various changes in leadership. Staff and student morale is naturally low after going through a long-term situation of uncertainty. My goal as a building principal has been to help bring stability, a positive culture, and provide opportunities for those students at Beallsville. Despite being small in size, I commend the staff and students at Beallsville K-12. With only 70 students projected to be in high school next year I am amazed at what they continue to accomplish. However, the highlight is the fact that the elementary staff and students work so closely with the middle school and high school in every way imaginable. Often, teachers share responsibilities between students of all ages. Our small size is now a benefit. The Beallsville community supports the school and students in everything. One example is our Relay for Life committee. The students partner every year with a community group to help raise money for local cancer patients. Last year, over $40,000 was raised. Every class does a project to contribute to the cause. Each May, an assembly is held where students present checks to local cancer patients or those families impacted by cancer. All money stays local. Projects such as this help the students learn to serve each other and their community. This type of learning is hands-on, project-based, and meaningful to real life. After nearly closing a few years ago, we have now added programs, classes, and clubs, as well as places where the students can spend their time, such as a new fieldhouse. Additionally, we have tied community groups into school activities and worked on projects with the community. Recent projects include not only the Relay for Life, but partnering with the community on class picture projects, trophy
projects, honoring veterans, volunteering with civic groups, etc. The community and the school are linked in every way imaginable. Though we are rural, students are provided with great opportunities that they may not have at a larger school. In a world where many people measure success in many different ways, we have embraced our culture and have decided to use it to our advantage. As I touched on earlier, high school students interact daily with our middle and elementary students. For example, we participate in the Second and 7 Foundation Reading program, where high school students read to second graders and distribute books. At the end of every grading period, we have implemented trips to the zoo, trampoline park, roller blading, and Kennywood Amusement Park for students who receive top of the class, honor roll, perfect attendance, etc. Each grade also takes educational trips to provide opportunities that are many times hard to come by due to our geographic area. Beallsville has taken advantage of the small classroom sizes to provide targeted instruction to small groups and individuals, which has helped improve academics. Many times we can look at our small size as a challenge. However, we have embraced it and used it to our benefit. All students, staff, and community members work together to provide opportunities in a small school setting. I’ve learned that success is not always shown on a state report card, but through seeing students succeed in their own way. Students in rural areas seem to have challenges that few can understand. We are an hour from about anywhere, and that can be hard. Despite some landowners becoming millionaires overnight because of the gas and oil boom, the vast majority of students remain in poverty with great challenges of daily living. Before we can prepare students for anything, we must give them a positive culture, hope, and a sense of belonging. After that, the change will follow! As instructional leaders, we all know data is important, but when you have low numbers and look at percentages, you can be deceived. Instead, we have to look at each student and measure their growth against themselves. Success is not always measured the same way in every circumstance. There are many voices who will continue to tell us what success looks like, but sometimes we have to quiet those voices and instead instill hope, purpose, and opportunity in the students we serve. Casey Tolzda is in his 7th year as a school principal and his second as the K-12 Campus Principal at Beallsville School. He holds an Ed. S from Muskingum University. The author can be contacted via email at casey.tolzda@omeresa.net and via Twitter at @CTolzda.
spring 2020
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