Mark Dewalt Quotations

I got interested when statisticians in Washington, D.C., said by the year 2000 there'd be no one-room schools left. That was in about 1985.

I don't expect (their numbers) to go to zero, because of support from the local community, and the numbers of children living in remote locations.

When they started to disappear, communities lost a part of their community heritage.

The one-room schoolhouse contributed to the social context of the entire community. It was a place where elections were held, picnics and celebrations, public meetings.

I've been all around the United States researching, and in my opinion, Iowa is number one at school preservation. This is because of the preservation alliance and the rich history of education in Iowa.

In 1930, there were about 150,000 one-room public schoolhouses in the United States. By 1997 that number had dwindled to just 450.

A one-room country school is not just about education. It builds pride in the community.