Students in Angle Inlet get to school by boat, snowmobile, and golf cart and all study together in Minnesota’s last one-room schoolhouse
It was a simple request, but one that would change Linda Kastl’s life: After four years of teaching first grade in Warroad, she approached the school’s principal in 1985 and asked to try a new grade level. “His response was ‘How would you like to experience every grade level?’” she laughs. The principal was suggesting Kastl take over the lone K–6 teaching position at the Angle Inlet School, the last one-room schoolhouse in Minnesota. Located in the remote Northwest Angle, a small resort community of roughly 150 people, the position required Kastl to live in the small teacherage next door and have a right arm strong enough to start the students’ snowmobiles in winter.
Minnesota Parent experienced a day in the life of Angle Inlet School and got some answers to questions about the workings of our last one-room school.
How do you teach four (or more) grades at the same time?
The school year saw Kastl teaching a fifth-grade curriculum to Madi Goulet, fourth grade to twins Benjamin and Jacob Colson, second grade to their younger brother Sam and Madi’s sister Kelby, and first grade to Meaghan Carlson. When the students arrive in the morning, they see the assignments for their grade on the chalkboard and get to work. “They adapt quickly to being individual learners and work independently,” explains Kastl. “They see what they have to do, and it’s up to them what they want to work on first. It teaches them to organize their time because anything not completed during the day is homework.” Throughout the day, Kastl works with different students, and she is often interrupted to answer questions or help other students.
What happens if a student has special needs?
Kastl has had students with speech problems and learning disabilities, which requires the Warroad School District to send a specialist to meet with the child and create lesson plans Kastl can use. That specialist typically visits every other week. “Because I work independently with the kids, it’s a very natural system,” says Kastl.
Are there always enough kids to keep the school open?
No. From 1992–1994 the Warroad School District closed the school due to low enrollment (two to three students). However, three years ago, the school was made up solely of the three Colson boys and the district kept it open. During Kastl’s tenure, enrollment has peaked at 16 students.
Where do the kids go after sixth grade?
Graduating from the Angle Inlet School earns students a 130-mile roundtrip bus ride to Warroad each day. Most Angle children sleep during the hour-plus drive in the morning and do homework on the return ride (which includes a stop at the Canadian border each way).
How do they handle the transition?
“For some kids, that switch is rough,” says Kastl. “But others like rubbing shoulders with different kids and switching classes. It almost makes the eventual move to college easier because they’ve already experienced a major transition.” The transition has implications for Kastl as well. “I feel a real weight, a real responsibility because I’m the only teacher they’ve ever known. It’s sobering.”
What about extracurriculars?
For many kids, the long bus ride automatically eliminates other activities. Jason Goulet, father of students Kelby and Madi, said their move last year from Warroad to the Angle meant giving up hockey after school. “I explained the sacrifice to them,” says Goulet. “We weren’t going to be driving back and forth.”
Are there ever snow days?
“When Warroad closes then we just close, too,” says Kastl, who adds that the fact that many students commute via snowmobile in the winter means snow isn’t typically the problem — wind is the real enemy.
How does the teacher let the students know?
In the Angle everyone has a marine band radio, including the school itself, so in the past, Kastl simply announced the closure over the radio (“We hear you on Oak Island” “Loud and clear on Flag Island; we’ll stay in”). Today, kids find out via the regular radio or television. The marine band radio still sits in the classroom, however, and crackles to life with announcements from time to time — like when a resident announced fresh cinnamon rolls had just come out of her oven.
Wait — the students get to school by snowmobile?
Yes. And by boat, golf cart, bike, and good old-fashioned walking, too. This year is an anomaly in that all of the students live on the mainland, which means Kastl — who travels five miles over water when it’s warm and ice when it’s winter — comes the farthest.
What do the parents think of the school?
“There are no cliques here, you’re friends with your classmates or you don’t have friends,” says Paul Colson, who runs Jake’s Northwest Angle resort and is the father of Jacob, Benjamin, and Sam. Angle children are known for being independent, mature, and quick to interact with kids and adults alike thanks to plenty of experience working at family resorts. “There’s a social accountability here because everyone knows everyone else.”
Fun fact
Known as the “chimney” on the outline of Minnesota’s border, the Northwest Angle is the only part of the contiguous United States north of the 49th parallel. And the only way for Minnesotans to reach “the Angle” is by going through Canada, flying in, or boating across Lake of the Woods.
TPT Originals aired a story on the Angle Inlet School. You can view it here.
