Faulkton Elementary School – Blue Ribbon School
October 22, 2013
Faulkton Area Elementary school lies amidst the rolling fields and small communities of north central South Dakota. The school is the cornerstone of a district that encompasses over 900 square miles of rural South Dakota and has a student population of 145 in grades Pre K-6. The student/teacher ratio is 18-1 and includes class sizes between 10 and 26. This provides for many small group and cooperative learning activities in the classroom and also with other class groups.
Faulkton Area Elementary is a very close knit community with strong ties to the school and a sense of ownership and responsibility to the students and their needs as individual learners. This cohesiveness provides for a rich, caring environment where individual students are recognized for their individual strengths and provided opportunities to improve their areas of need. District teachers take a personal interest in the learning needs of their students and individualize, as much as possible, the manner in which each student is taught based upon the teacher’s knowledge of that child.
Technology also plays a significant role in the learning environment. Each classroom is equipped with a Promethean Board and each classroom teacher has a laptop that enables them to use the interactive technology in every subject. Students are also provided opportunities to interact electronically and connect to their teacher both personally and using the computer interface to check for success and understanding of new and complex tasks.
The strongest component of the educational success of the building is the intense interest that parents take in their child’s educational journey. Parental involvement is the real key to success for our classrooms.
To read more about this prestigious award, click here.