'A pretty sweet place': A look at learning inside one of B.C.'s tiniest schools

We often hear of crowded classrooms and school spaces crammed with portables. Now imagine a school with 10 students or less.

There are actually 11 such schools in B.C.

One of them is in the tiny Kootenay community of Edgewood.

“At the moment, we sit with four enrolled students,” said Brent Cook, who is acting principal of both Edgewood Elementary and another school in the Arrow Lakes School District.

“It’s a family. Whenever I get to go there…the kids are just pumped to see me…It’s a pretty special place to be educated.”

The K-3 school’s one and only teacher is Erika Momeyer.

“I’ve actually always taught in rural multi-grade schools so to me I think it’s normal, it’s what teaching is,” she said.

In the past, the school had about 100 students in five classrooms. Over the years, the numbers have dropped, but the school has stayed open.

“Kids should be educated in their home community if possible and we have a school in Edgewood,” Cook said, adding the school is also used by the community for its library and meeting rooms.

And he says the next closest school would make for a long commute.

“(Students) would have to jump on the bus about 7:19 (a.m.), cross a ferry and then continue on the journey being just over an hour each way,” he said.

Staff here, not surprisingly, take on multiple roles.

“My clerical does librarian and custodian. I’m someone who has to step in now and then and do whatever, drive the bus. Whatever it takes,” Cook said.

Such a tiny school can present challenges.

“Sometimes it’s difficult to put together a team, like if I wanted to teach volleyball, that’s a tough one,” said Cook.

But mostly, he says, the school is an incredible place.

“It’s a world class education in a rural environment. I think our kids are really lucky to be there.”

Momeyer, a longtime teacher at the school, said she gets to see the kids grow and learn over the course of several years.

“I love it because I love having the same students returning all the time and building relationships and really getting to know the students.”

Cook finds it difficult to fathom a school district like Surrey where it’s projected there will be 900 new students this year and there are schools with as many as 14 portables on site.

In neighbouring Langley School District, Walnut Grove Secondary is the largest public school in B.C. It had more than 2,000 students last year.

Cook said they hope to open Edgewood up to more grades in the future, and therefore see their small school numbers grow.

But even without that, he said the school is the hub of the community.

“It’s a pretty sweet place,” he said.