Rachel Casponi reads to the students of Westwold School. (Image Credit: Kent Simmonds / CFJC Today)

By Dylana Kneeshaw

WESTWOLD ENROLLMENT

After years of sparse enrollment, Westwold School reaches 20 students

Mar 17, 2022 | 4:07 PM

WESTWOLD, B.C. — Just a few short years ago, the doors of Westwold School were closed, with no students.

It’s taken time to build back the student body, but now the rural school outside of Kamloops is thriving again — with 20 students enrolled.

“It has been just an absolute joy to get to go through that process together and figure out what whole-group learning looks like from K to (Grade) 6,” says Westwold teacher Rachel Casponi. Casponi is the sole full-time teacher at the facility, and works with certified education assistants and instructors completing their teaching practicum.

So, what changed? Blake Buemann, the school’s principal says some parents no longer wanted to send their kids on a 45-minute commute to Kamloops. But he also believes the increase is mostly because families wanted to build up the rural community.

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“I think in large part, that’s connected to a teacher here who is connected with the community, who is reaching out to families,” he explains. “And families feel like they want the school to be a success so they’re enrolling their children here and just making this a community place.”

Currently, the single-class school is a blend of students between Kindergarten and Grade 6, most of whom grew up in the area. Some are siblings, and some transferred from other schools.

CFJC spoke with students to ask what they enjoyed about attending Westwold.

“My favourite part is that there is a lot less kids than there was at my old school and I’ve made a lot of new friends,” explains Grade 6 student Lizy Smith, “and we all live really close to each other so we can go to each other’s houses a lot and it’s really fun.”

Meantime, Grade 4 student Tristan Eager says he enjoys knowing people at the school and really likes Casponi’s approach to teaching.

“I came to the school because my parents wanted me to, and I at least knew someone so that I could be supported, you know.”

The small class size gives plenty of opportunity for one-on-one learning. And socially, Casponi says students learn a lot about conflict resolution and getting along with people you spent a lot of time with.

“It’s all in the curriculum, but I think we see that maybe a lot more carefully here through that lens, because it’s extremely important that we all function happily and healthily in our little environment.”

Should enrollment increase again, Westwold hopes to have the numbers to bring in another teacher for a second class in 2023.

“(We’re) hoping to maintain the population that we have now by just working as hard as I can to do the best job possible,” adds Casponi.