RAMSAY — For several years, a tiny school located outside of Butte in Silver Bow County has been seeking to expand, and Butte Silver-Bow County commissioners have finally approved the sale of a park located next to Ramsay School for an expansion.
"It’s really exciting to have more opportunities for learning and experiments and all sorts of things," says Whiteny Skinner, the eighth-grade science teacher at Ramsay.
Watch how Ramsay School secures land for a much-needed expansion in Butte!
Skinner cracks open the door where her science supplies are stored in one of the two modular buildings that serve as learning spaces for middle school students.
"We had the man come in to inspect the classroom, and he was wondering where the eye wash station was, and I said we don’t have one."
Also absent are chemicals that are useful for conducting science experiments. In the current classroom, there is no room for that kind of lesson. Instead, science lessons have mostly been kept to textbook information due to the lack of laboratory space.
But that is about to change.
After years of negotiating, Ramsay School finally got approval from Butte-Silver Bow County commissioners to purchase two acres of parkland next to the school for just over $15,000.
"We’re hoping for a new building, but that’s kind of the next step. We haven’t made any final decisions on that, but now we can start talking about next steps and see what the community wants to do and the school and what’s best for the students," says Chris Kellogg, the school's principal.
There are 160 students, including about 45 middle school students, who attend the school that was built in the early 1900s. The modular buildings were added in the 1990’s.
Kellogg and Skinner say the modular buildings do not serve the educational needs of their students.
"So, it creates the opportunity to do projects that we haven’t been able to do in this space, and hands-on learning is super important just so that they can see what excites them and for future career options or what they’re interested in in the future."
Kellogg says planning for the school expansion will begin at the June school board meeting.
