One of the anchors of the Falling Water community, the 104-year-old elementary school of fewer than 200 students, closed for good this summer, as the Hamilton County Department of Education moves toward what it says is a more cost-effective “mega-school” model.
Parents and teachers say they are afraid students’ test scores will go down when they are sent to much larger schools, and several national research studies back up their concerns.
Despite Falling Water Elementary being a Title I school, meaning a large share of poor children attended, the school was named one of just 285 Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education last year. The school earned the prestigious award for its success closing achievement gaps between students.
Walking down the creaky, wood-floored hallway before school let out for the summer, Principal Lee Ann Burk said she knows the building doesn’t have the newest technology or fancy facilities, but what made Falling Water successful was the relationships that exist within the schoolhouse.
“School is not about the equipment in the building. You can have all the equipment in the world and not make progress,” Burk said. “But if you have the relationships and know where kids are and where they need to be, you can make progress.”