About One Room U
Ron Scutt, provides most of the material for this site. He spent the majority of his teaching career working with young people ranging in age from five to fourteen. Joining him in this educational adventure were his wife, Kim, and many talented community members who developed special lessons for the class. Ron treasures developing lifelong friendships with students.
Welcomes to OneRoomU. This site is published for parents and friends of Children (capital intended) who ask – How do we stimulate the growth and development of the child within the context of a developmentally appropriate educational curriculum?
OneRoomU encourages those who work with youth to:
- Recognize children as physical, artistic, and intellectual beings and develop a curriculum supporting this understanding.
- Recognize the brain as a living, growing organism that gradually develops through distinct maturational stages. Each stage requires significant exposure to the arts and physical activity integrated within the curriculum.
- Ask the question: Do the children I know receive curriculum content that expands or diminishes the development of the brain and organs of perception?
As a one-room school educator for nearly five decades, Ron’s witnessed past students enter high school (several valedictorians), college, the world of work, and as parents who are currently raising their own children. It’s a privilege to witness the continuum of human development and to experience lifetime relationships.
OneRoomU will share stories offering a glimpse into the lives of young people raised in an isolated mountain community and attending a one-room school.
Are lessons learned in the one-room school relevant today? Ron and his students exported educational ideas making presentations to public, private, and home-school organizations. These diverse audiences found lessons learned in the one-room school relevant to their contemporary classrooms.
Honors & Distinctions
1996 Milken Family Foundation WA State Teacher of the Year
The following introduction to Ron’s conference presentation was written by the Milken Family Foundation
Conference Presenter 1997 & 1998 Milken Awards Gathering in Los Angeles
Introduction to Ron’s presentation entitled “Voices Speaking for the Honor of the Profession.”
Voices Speaking for the Honor of the Profession – written by the Milken Family Foundation
HONORING CHILDREN — WE HONOR THE PROFESSION
Effective educators exert a powerful and positive influence on the lives of children. Teachers who meet arduous pedagogical challenges while maintaining the will to educate all children define teaching most capably. In an era too often defined by educational tension, effective educators provide safe harbors for beleaguered children. Teachers capable of stimulating academic, artistic, physical and social skills introduce children to a positive, productive future.
“Voices Speaking for the Honor of the Profession,” is a heartening presentation authored by one-room school teacher, Ron Scutt. The presentation is introduced as Ron shares illustrative stories depicting his educational path as a student. He states, “I empathize with children who struggle to learn. My early years in the classroom can only be described as incredibly painful. As a result of this struggle, I relate well with students who, after laborious effort, seem to gain little.” Ron defines the attributes of honored educators who influenced his life in a profound manner. Following this introduction, Ron will present a student-developed program entitled, “Building Better Minds Through Dendristy.” (Dendrites are the brain’s message conduits.) This program demonstrates how the physiological and psychological needs of children can be nurtured in a developmentally appropriate manner using relatively simple classroom tools. The remainder of the program introduces specific examples of educational activities designed to amplify the neurological capability of children. These activities can be adapted to a wide spectrum of educational settings.
Participants will review a collection of skillfully executed student work. Journals, innovative math problems, thematic lesson units, paintings, drawings, and special class projects will be on hand for review by participants. This presentation offers educators a rare opportunity to see a continuum of developmentally appropriate schoolwork produced by children ranging from grade one through eight. By honoring the developmental needs of children, teachers honor both children and the profession.
2011 – WA State Regional Teacher of the Year – Ron Scutt
Wenatchee World – May 2011
Teaching in Stehekin’s one room school, Ron has become a master at creating thematic interdisciplinary units that engage all of his students’ senses and keep them engaged over a period of years – a student who enters 1st grade at Stehekin may be in Ron’s ‘class’ for eight years.
After 34 years, Ron’s joy in his work is undiminished. Visitors to Stehekin School have the rare opportunity to observe students at multiple levels working together around a particular subject or theme. Young students are encouraged by older students who are learning to become compassionate leaders.
Ron is widely respected as an expert implementing developmentally appropriate classroom activity. He believes strongly in “teaching to the hands and feet,” He is passionate about incorporating artistic and physical activity into the more traditional academic disciplines. Knitting, calligraphy and even juggling are seamlessly woven into the school day as Ron carefully gauges the intellectual development of each student and provides them with tactile activities to support their own maturation process.
Ron has embraced the gifts of his remote community. He is the editor and publisher of the local newpaper, president of the Heritage organization and emcee for an annual Trillium Festival. Outside of Stehekin, Ron spent 7 years on the Professional Educator Standards board (he was an inaugural member) and has traveled the country to teach other educators lessons he has learned about education, children and community in Stehekin. Lessons that transcend his small community.
Like Stehekin, Ron is an original. His former ESD Superintendent Gene Sharrett confirms: “There is only one Ron. Ron is a model of teaching excellence and exceptional classroom instruction. It has been my personal and professional privilege to observe Ron over the past two decades. He continually reaffirms my respect for the power of learning and the significance of exemplary classroom teaching. His impact on students is immediate, his legacy profound.”
Stehekin School magic: Dr. Gene Sharratt reflects on Ron Scutt’s vision and impact
BY RUFUS WOODS · PUBLISHED JULY 18, 2016 · UPDATED JULY 18, 2016
Editor’s note: I asked a few key people in Stehekin and North Central Washington to reflect on the work of Ron and Kim Scutt in Stehekin. Here is the response from Dr. Gene Sharratt, former superintendent, North Central Educational Service District.
Question: Describe your involvement with the Scutts:
I first met Ron and Kim in 1991 when I became superintendent for the North Central Educational Service District. At the invitation of the district, I traveled up-lake in the fall to visit the school and meet Ron and the Stehekin students. My first impressions became lasting impressions as I was greeted in the typical Stehekin community fashion, with warmth and genuine friendship. I vividly recall the sense of joy, of learning, and of authentic interest in teaching the “whole” child.
While the curriculum content areas of math, science, reading were clearly evident, it was the integration of this content, the application to daily life, and the emphasis on the values of relationships, the arts, and community-based learning that captured my interest. Ron’s approach to thematic learning (learning integrated around a specific theme in history, literature, science, math, etc.) was special. This approach allowed students to use their content skills to problem-solve, apply knowledge, and place in context the meaning of their learning. With multi-grade level and student ages, Ron was tasked with ensuring all students learning at high levels, regardless of their age or past educational experiences.
Over the course of my 11 years as ESD superintendent, I visited the school three to four times a year, always looking forward to the next visit. I had the opportunity to witness early learning students become academically talented students as they progressed through the system. I nominated Ron for the prestigious Michael Milken National Teacher of the Year Award, which he received for his excellence in educational instruction. The Stehekin school is a special place, made special by Ron’s unwavering commitment to teaching all students at high levels of attainment.
Question: What have Ron and Kim meant to the Stehekin community?
The Stehekin community is just that, a community. It is a community where everyone depends on everyone contributing and pitching in on every aspect of community life. As an isolated area, the community relies on each member to take a leadership role. The Stehekin school, under Ron’s leadership, is the center of community life. From community forums, to an open library system, Ron and Kim have developed the school as a community learning center. As Ron and Kim would say, “learning knows no time or place boundaries.” The school serves as the hub of community learning. Ron and Kim have contributed in every way possible to the development of Stehekin as a learning community.
Question: Ron had a special gift for teaching. What was it that made the Stehekin School experience unique and valuable?
Beyond what I mentioned in the first question, Ron is a relationship builder for all students. He firmly believes that learning takes place as part of building caring and authentic relationships with students. He believes that no learning occurs without a sincere relationship. These relationships are with students, families and the community. The Stehekin school is, indeed, a special place, guided so gracefully by a very special teacher and person, in Ron Scutt.
Question: What else should the folks in North Central Washington know about the Scutts?
True devotion knows no boundaries, genuine commitment no end – Ron and Kim have given freely, gracefully, and faithfully to the education, health and well-being of hundreds of students who attended the Stehekin school and who will enjoy a lifetime benefit because of their personal commitment to excellence in every phase of their lives. I remember so many fun-filled days cross country skiing with the students to school, standing by the wood stove warming up after a cold day participating in recess activities, and the peacefulness of Ron’s demeanor and thoughtfulness toward others.
Thanks for asking about such great people. They are truly deserving of recognition.
Dr. Gene Sharratt
Ron was a member of the WA State Commission on Student Learning, and as teacher representative on WA State’s Professional Education Standards Board (PESB). He worked with the legislatively created Commission on Student Learning until the completion of its work and served a seven-year term on the Washington State’s PESB.
