At Kachemak Selo, a Russian Old Believer village at the head of Kachemak Bay with an estimated 250 residents, students are smiling about their new school building, but much of the work was done by them. And the faculty and staff. And the villagers.
“We just had a clean-up day and weed-whacked, took a tree out and cut the root out, too, put up blackboards and bulletin boards, brought in gravel and put up metal shelving,” said Principal Randy Creamer of the four staff members and 40 students that participated in a recent work party.
Since Creamer began teaching at Kachemak Selo 18 years ago, he, his staff, students and villagers have increasingly suffered growing pains as the number of students increased. Today enrollment is about 90. Trying to maximize the two-building campus, a woodshed built on the side of one building was converted into a tiny classroom, library and nurse’s office. Curtains were hung to separate classes. An unannounced visit by the state fire marshal several winters ago brought to Creamer’s attention the need for a sprinkling system or more than one exit in a classroom that held 50 students.
“He counted the students and shut the school down until another door could be added,” Creamer said of the abrupt, but temporary halt to classes.
All the land in Kachemak Selo is privately owned, so the school buildings are owned by the village and leased by the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, according to Donna Peterson, KPBSD superintendent. That left the solution of providing additional classroom space to village residents.
“For three or four years, another building has been a topic with the parents,” Creamer said. “The options were to bring in a portable, to build or to renovate. Finally they decided to renovate.”
So, in September, the village’s existing two-building campus nearly doubled in size with the addition of a 3,000-square-foot building that was once the home of a former village resident and is now leased by the district. Bringing it into compliance as a school facility cost approximately $20,000, and it provides classroom space for 40 sixth- through twelfth-grade students.
“It’s pretty incredible,” Creamer said, looking around at the remodeled space, filled with desks and chalkboards salvaged from other schools and hauled into the village. A garage offers storage space for supplies, which is a new luxury for Creamer. “This was a lot of hard work on our part.”
The effort, however, is worth the opportunity to teach in this remote location inaccessible by public road. Neither Creamer nor his faculty live in the village, so every morning they travel by foot or four-wheeler down the steeply switch-backed and deeply rutted trail from the top of the bluff about 22 miles east of Homer to the beach, and then follow the beach to the village. During times of flooding, they must find a way across a stream at the entrance to Kachemak Selo. During winter, they slip cleats over their boots to avoid falls. In the dark, they carry flashlights or wear headlamps. At the end of the school day, they retrace their steps.
“We have the greatest kids in the district, but I don’t want to let everyone know that,” Creamer said by way of explanation. “Discipline problems are just non-existent. They are very capable kids. Totally capable of helping with all these projects.”
“And I have a wonderful staff,” he added.
“Their motto is ‘work is great once you get there,’” said Peterson. “One of the things I do when we have someone from outside (the district) is we’ll go there on a sunny day so they see the beauty. And then we go on a day that we either need cleats or are in mud up to our ankles or wear headlamps. No one believes what it’s like until you’ve done it several times. But those teachers love the students. They’re very dedicated.”
That commitment defies all odds, Peterson said.
“We didn’t know if the population would stay and take root and always be there, but they certainly have, and we have a very stable staff down there,” she said. “That really isn’t the way the research would tell you would happen in an isolated location like that.”
Of the school’s future, Peterson said, “The law says a school has to be provided if there are eight students of elementary age. There’s plenty of students in that community and lots of preschoolers, so they look very good for the future.”
Creamer lists several reasons for the school’s strong presence.
“The kids are with their older brothers and sisters and that’s the best source of helping keep them in line,” he said of the kindergarten through 12th-grade environment that is perfect for older siblings watching over younger students.
Self-reliance also is an important factor.
“Nobody does anything for these people; they do it all themselves,” Creamer said. “In other places, there would be a bond passed (to build a school) and everything would come in a package, but here, there was no bond. We did it. The kids have a sense of pride and ownership.”
McKibben Jackinsky can be reached at mckibben.jackinsky@homernews.com.
The phrase “new school” evokes images of blueprint-guided construction crews, foundations being poured and new walls being erected. Freshly painted classrooms filled with new desks and new computers. Paved parking areas and playground equipment. And smiling students stepping into already completed surroundings.
We encourage you to add your comments. To prevent spam, comments with links are manually approved during the normal business day. Please be respectful of others with your comments, bear in mind anyone in the community may be reading your comments.
