BOULDER - The Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) held their annual BVSD is the Place to Be Showcase at the CU Events center on Wednesday, October 22. 

The showcase featured booths from schools in the district and offered parents and prospective students a chance to get to know the schools by talking to students and faculty.

For schools like Nederland Elementary and Middle-Senior High School, and Gold Hill School and Jamestown Elementary School, it’s also a time to showcase the unique learning environments the smaller mountain schools have to offer.

Most schools in BVSD have large populations, with the majority of elementary schools having over 200 students enrolled, according to recent BVSD enrollment data. However, Gold Hill and Jamestown Elementary schools both have 11 and 17 students respectively. 

Chrissy Maedke, the teacher at the one-room schoolhouse of Gold Hill, says that the small student population creates a very tight knit environment, which is representative of the town as a whole.

“It is very family friendly,” said Maedke. “It’s a very sibling-like dynamic that they have at the school.”

Jessica Seevers, the principal of Jamestown Elementary and Gold Hill School echoed that sentiment.

“[With a small school] you get a true community feel. Everyone knows all of the kids, we’re very close with all the families,” said Seevers. 

Another unique aspect of these schools is that they offer students a chance to get hands-on learning in their own communities. Gold Hill Elementary, which has been around longer than Colorado has been a state, teaches students about the watersheds in their area and has courses on snow and mountain safety for students. 

“[It’s] important for our local mountain kids to understand mountain safety, how to read the snow,” said Maedke, adding that they also offer ski programs to help students become more confident on the slopes. “Whatever it is we're studying, with the small class size and our locale, we're just able to go deeper.”

At Nederland Middle-Senior High School, athletic director and assistant principal Sean DePaula says the school is representative of the Nederland community as a whole.

“When you look at who lives in Nederland… you’ve got people who want to live in a small town [and] small community,” said DePaula. “I think that translates to what we have.” 

DePaula said some of the main benefits of a smaller local school are that students build better relationships with their teachers, and that the smaller student body allows kids to participate in more activities. “When you look at the kids that go to our school…they can participate in it all, and we want them to participate.”

Seevers also emphasized the importance of choice when it comes to schools. “I think that small schools are important,” she said. “I think as a parent, you should get to choose if you want a small school feel or if you would like a larger school setting for your kid.”

The showcase displayed the importance of local education and the necessity of smaller mountain schools among larger schools in the district.

To learn more about Nederland Elementary go to https://nee.bvsd.org/. If you want to check out Nederland Middle-Senior High School go to https://neh.bvsd.org/.

Go to https://ghe.bvsd.org/ to see more about Gold Hill School and check out https://jae.bvsd.org/ to learn more about Jamestown Elementary.