Sizing Up Small Schools: Dunkerton

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Sizing Up Small Schools: Dunkerton

By Josh Hinkle, Reporter

By Becky Ogann

CHICAGO - It might sound like a large field trip for such a small school, but every four years the high school in Dunkerton, Iowa, brings all 120 of its students to Chicago. And for many, it's unlike anything they've ever experienced.

266 miles. That's how far these students are from home. But for some like Kaitlin Garkow and Jenna Kajewski this trip is a much bigger stretch.

Kajewski says, "I come from a small town and then you come somewhere really busy and bigger and you're just amazed by how many people there are."

Garkow says, "People sitting on the streets asking for money - I've never seen that before."

Neither girl has ever taken a trip to the big city. And with every turn, it's another class room, from the cultural curriculum of Chinatown to the scientific setting of Adler Planetarium.

Teacher Nancy Moss says, "There're some things a small school can do that a big school can't."

Having fewer students has actually been an advantage for this school. Teachers and parent sponsors tag along and help students raise funds throughout the year to pay the $32,000 price tag.

Garkow says, "It got more exciting the last couple of months."

For some students, it's something they look forward to since kindergarten, just as exciting as prom or even graduation.

Kajewski says, "We were planning since last year, me and my friends."

From other worlds to a new view of this one at the top of the Sears Tower, Garkow and Kajewski say you can't see or even teach these things back at home. Literally a learning experience… this faraway field trip brings students much closer to the education teachers say they need.

Email Josh Hinkle at Josh.Hinkle@kcrg.com

Click here to view Josh's full blog.

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