Cool Spaces: A one-room education at Strange School

ONEIDA TWP. - On a recent Friday afternoon in a rural township outside Grand Ledge 14 students, in kindergarten through sixth grade, worked through their assignments on Chromebooks and iPads from their desks inside a 900-square-foot brick building that's been home to students for nearly 150 years.

From its spot on Oneida Road amid farm fields, Strange Elementary School has a nostalgic feel and a lengthy history. 

The brick building dates back to 1879. Black and white photos of the structure show the exterior hasn't changed much save the removal of its steeple.

Inside you'll find the original tin ceiling, wood trim and hardwood floors. Even the desks date back several decades. Gone is the wood burning stove that used to warm students, and one of the outdoor bathrooms they used to use, but the building operates without air conditioning.

At one time there were 7,000 one-room schoolhouses in Michigan, said Tom Johnson, chairman of the Michigan One-Room Schoolhouse Association. Roughly 1,100 are left, but some 800 are now homes and approximately 300 others house businesses or serve as museums, he said.

Strange School is one of fewer than two dozen one-room schoolhouses in lower Michigan still operating as grade schools, Johnson said. 

The school has its own two-square-mile district, Oneida Township School District, and a three-member board.

But its staff, including teacher Kristen Gallagher, offers a modern education.

"You look at the building and it looks like it's from 140 years ago," Gallagher said. "But you walk in and they're just normal kids. They really are, and we're just normal teachers."

Of the 14 students who are enrolled, 13 of them live outside Strange School's district's borders. They are school of choice students, Gallagher said.

Strange Elementary School follows the same curriculum other public school districts do, she said. Its students and staff utilize smart boards and individualized lesson plans. There's also the opportunity there for students to develop close relationships with classmates of every age, Gallagher said.

Still, when she began teaching there a year ago, Gallagher admits the setting was "surreal."

"Like, 'This really exists?" she said. "I live in Delta Township and grew up in Okemos. This was within 20 miles of where I grew up and I never knew. The fact that it's been running this long and I get to be a part of what continues that, it's really quite amazing."

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But Strange School board Secretary Cindy Coakley said some of the school's traditions are unique — like holiday music programs that involve every student, a subject rotation every 20 minutes and assistance that older students often give to their younger peers during class on a daily basis.

"It really is like a time gone by," Coakley said. "You have to be here to see it."

"We see the big picture here, I feel like," Gallagher said. "They really do have to learn to be independent here."

Beyond the classroom technology, there's a modern building addition on the one-acre property too. The 600-square-foot resource room went up in the 1990s. It sits next to the original building where an outdoor bathroom once was with its own separate entrance. A carriage house that once sat on the property is gone.

Gallagher said a lot of families in the area are surprised when they hear about Eaton County's remaining one-room school. Parents interested in enrolling their children are encouraged to visit, she said, so they can see for themselves how students learn there.

"A lot of times I think it's kind of a forgotten piece of property," Gallagher said.

But long-time area residents remember the school. Cars passing by on Oneida Road often slow down and guests sometimes stop in.

"Once or twice a month somebody will knock on the door," Gallagher said. "They went here or live up the road. There's curiosity of 'What does it look like now?'"

Maintaining the historical one-room school house is a constant investment, Coakley said.

This summer exterior boards right below the roof line of the school need replacing, as does mortar between some of the bricks and some of the exterior white trim will be repainted, she said.

School staff and officials know they are caretakers of a piece of local history, Coakley said.

"It's survived all of it," she said. "This still continues. Strange School has a heritage you can't ignore."

Contact Rachel Greco at (517) 528-2075 or rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ.