Home School Home

By Ryan Bakken, Grand Forks Herald, N.D.

Oct. 30–CALVIN, N.D. — When tiny Border Central closed its doors in May, teachers and students described the school environment in homey terms.

It’s like one big family, they said. It’s like home-schooling, only with professional teachers, they said.

Guess what? Since the building reopened Aug. 1, it is occupied by a family the Lorry and Tammy Barrett family. And it is a home school, as seven Barrett children are taught there by their mother.

The little schoolhouse on the prairie is back. More than just the Barretts are pleased that its time in mothballs was short.

The smallest K-12 school in the state with 25 students, Border Central closed for reasons common in rural North Dakota too few students, too few teachers and too little money.

At an auction of the school district’s property, the Barretts bought the single-floor building of 20,000 square feet for the fire-sale price of $1,500.

The price is not a reflection of the building’s condition. Built in 1961, the structure of brick, concrete and steel is solid. It’s more a reflection of the growing remoteness of the area and the lack of demand for a building, whether it be for a home or for industry. How remote? The Barretts travel 35 miles one way for their groceries.

The Barretts, who previously rented near Langdon, N.D., and Rock Lake, N.D., found no home in a 30-mile radius to their liking. The home/school is seven miles from Lorry’s border agent job at the port of entry in Sarles, N.D.

“I read somewhere that North Dakota is the last state without a new home costing $1 million to build,” Lorry said. “But I bet it would cost a lot more than $1 million to build this.”

The price isn’t the only reason they consider it a bargain. The value of having a real school for teaching Samuel, 18, Sadie, 17, Jeniece, 15, Caitlyn, 13, Isaac, 12, Elsie, 10, and Emily, 7: Priceless.

“I never really knew until now how nice it is to go to a classroom to teach instead of first having to clear the dishes or laundry off the table,” Tammy said. “And the gym is great. It provides lots of room to roam.”

The 24 residents of Calvin and school alumni also are pleased that the building full of fond memories is being preserved, unlike so many others that have been left to rot and decay.

“People at the auction and people who have visited us say that they’re rooting for us to make this work,” Tammy said.

Among the rooters is Shelley Wold, who works at Farmers Union Oil in Calvin.

“I’d much rather see it used than just sitting there and crumbling,” she said.

Wold said some residents are skeptical. “We sold the school its fuel oil, so we know how much it cost to heat the place,” she said.

Lorry knows, too. That’s why he has switched to a propane furnace and has the two oil furnaces for sale. And that’s why only 3,500 of the 20,000 square feet will be living quarters and heated.

The new furnace is only one of the “999 projects I have going,” Lorry said. Growing up in a family in the construction business has helped immensely.

They will spend an estimated $30,000 on their extreme makeover. The rush is on to get the living area ready before the temperatures turn cold. Despite using just one-sixth of the school, the home will be spacious, a welcome prospect.

“We live in the middle of nowhere and hang out together year-round,” Tammy said. “So, sometimes you need some of your own space, especially when you can’t go outside in the winter.”

The former science lab of 1,000 square feet is being converted into the dining room, kitchen and living room. Currently, the old home economics room, in the unheated portion of the school, serves that purpose.

Other classrooms are being made into bedrooms. And one is used as the classroom for their seven children who still live at home. The restrooms and locker rooms also are being remodeled.

“This is a perfect building,” Lorry said. “It’s made solid, has a good foundation, a good roof, good electrical. It’s like warehouses being made into apartment buildings in big cities. The shell is there, and the finishing inside needs to be done.”

They have two front doors the schoolhouse door and a newly installed decorative door that marks the start of the living quarters.

Not everyone realizes it’s a private home. Ditch-mowing workers walked in unannounced to use a locker room for a bathroom break. Another man, an alumnus who returned to visit, walked into their living quarters.

Sheepishly returning to the main entrance, “He said, ‘Oh, I guess this isn’t a school anymore,’” Lorry recalled.

More accurately, it’s half-school, half-home. Some of the school’s elements, such as the gym and library, are intact and used heavily. The trophy cases in the entryway are filled with family pictures.

“We told the alumni that they can keep their class pictures and trophies on display in the front hallway if they want to, but we haven’t heard back from them,” Lorry said.

The former shop is home to work projects, plus the family kittens and rabbits. Also, blackboards and greaseboards are used throughout the building.

One has the shopping list and appointment schedule. One has the homework assignments. Others have Bible verses and sayings. Jeniece has designed her dream bedroom. Another has a handwritten “Lorry (heart) Tammy always and 4-ever.”

“Being we can never find each other in this big house, we leave notes for each other,” Lorry said.

They use the walk-in safe in the principal’s office to store valuables. “If the kids misbehave in school, you can’t send them to the principal’s office because that’s where the computer is,” said Lorry, who is quick with a quip. “They’d want to be sent to the principal’s office.”

Religious education

The Bennett children always have been home-schooled, although their three oldest children have taken a few electives at public schools.

Tammy teaches with curriculum written by their Baptist affiliation.

“Our beliefs are integrated into our schoolwork,” Tammy said. “We teach creation, family life and character-building. The children learn a Bible verse with each subject. And they read the Bible on their own.”

The Bennett females wear dresses as part of their faith. The family attends church Wednesdays and Sundays.

“We’re not the fanatical or nontechnological types,” Samuel said. “We use computers, we play video games, we watch movies.”

Classroom time is flexible. When Lorry begins work in the morning, school does, too. When his shift begins at 2 p.m., so does school.

“When dad is home, we spend time with dad,” Tammy said. “And we don’t have storm days.”

Lorry grew up in nearby Walhalla, N.D., and left for the Army five days after his high school graduation in 1979. Tammy also served in the Army when they met. After being married, they settled in California, where Lorry worked 11 years as a prison guard in San Quentin.

“I was tired of literally fighting crime and suppressing evil in my own yard,” Lorry said.

So, they moved back to North Dakota, where life was good except for not being able to find a suitable home for their large family.

Now they feel as if they’ve found it, with the bonus of a school thrown in for free. “We won’t get in trouble for putting the Ten Commandments on the wall in our school,” Lorry said.

Sadie said Jeniece and Caitlyn would attend public school if the choice was theirs. But their new environment has made home-schooling more pleasant for all.

After all, how many families have their own gym? How many children are allowed to use their in-line skates down their home’s hallways? How many can have a treasure hunt in bales of straw in their home, as their church youth group will do on Halloween night in the gym.

“It’s pretty neat here,” Sadie said.

The words “BORDER CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL,” spelled out in individual red letters, still sit atop the entrance. Tammy’s plan is to use some of the letters and rearrange them for a new sign. She hasn’t decided for sure, but her leading candidate is “Border Castle.”

The saying that a man’s home is his castle rings true for all nine Bennetts.

“At first it felt like a school,” Samuel said. “Now it feels like a home.”

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