Teachers and students join together for one of the final classes at the Mt. Jewett Elementary School, which closes today. Mt. Jewett students will be shifted to the Chestnut Street Elementary School in Kane for the next school year. Photo by Ted Lutz.

MT. JEWETT - It's the end of an era in Mt. Jewett today as the community school closes its doors.

The Kane School Board voted in December to close the Mt. Jewett Elementary School as part of a school consolidation plan.

About 39 children now attending the Mt. Jewett school will be shifted to the Chestnut Street Elementary School in Kane when classes resume in August. The 11 fifth-graders in Mt. Jewett will be heading to the Kane Middle School for the next school year.

The school closing is a sad event for many Mt. Jewett residents because the school has been a focal point for community activities. For example, the annual Mt. Jewett Operetta at the school draws parents, grandparents and other residents to see all children in the school dress up and participate in the traditional Christmas-time musical.

Pat Swartzfager, who has been the school secretary for 31 years, said the school atmosphere is "more like a family."

"If something happens to a child, you're concerned," Swartzfager said. "If something happens to their parents, you're also concerned. We're all close."

Swartzfager said she knows "almost" all the parents on a first-name basis. "I know where all the kids live," she said.

She said her office in the school will remain open through the end of the month. She said she has been assigned to work in the Kane Middle School when her duties end in Mt. Jewett.

Andrew Peterson, a fourth-grader at the Mt. Jewett school, said "it's sad our school is going to close." He has attended the school since kindergarten and now will be leaving to attend fifth grade at the Chestnut Street school in Kane.

"I'll be making new friends," he said.

Hannah Ross, a fourth-grader who also has known no other school, said she has "a lot of friends" because the Mt. Jewett classes are small. She, too, will be heading to Chestnut Street for fifth grade.

"They have really nice classrooms," she said in discussing her pending move to the Chestnut Street school.

The four teachers at the Mt. Jewett school all will carry fond memories of their teaching experiences in Mt. Jewett.

Casey Zimmerman, the third-grade teacher in Mt. Jewett, began his teaching career seven years ago in Mt. Jewett.

"This is the only school where I have taught," Zimmerman said. "It's the end of a chapter. I'm kind of sad. I'm sure I'll miss it."

Robynn Kowatch, the second-grade teacher at Mt. Jewett, also has been teaching at the school for the past seven years.

"There's a family feeling here," Kowatch said. "The parents are great. They support us."

Because of the smaller classes in Mt. Jewett, Kowatch said "you get to know all the kids, not just the ones in your classroom." "The kids also are familiar with all the teacher," she said. "I'm sad to leave."

Kowatch said she expects her students to make a smooth transition to Chestnut Street because they have been "pen-pals" this year with students in Tracy Pierson's second-grade class at the Kane school.

Both Josie Klaiber, the fourth-grade teacher, and Lisa Niklas, the fifth-grade teacher, began their teaching careers last September at the Mt. Jewett school.

"This is a nice little community," Klaiber said. "We're spoiled here."

Niklas said the Mt. Jewett school is "kind of special" because the classes can take part in many activities together.

"I had the chance to know all the kids in all the grades," Niklas said. "I'm going to miss it."

All four Mt. Jewett teachers have been assigned to teach at the Chestnut Street school in the next school year.

David Thompson, who has been the custodian in the Mt. Jewett school for 11 1/2 years, said the closing of the school is "a sad day for Mt. Jewett."

He believes the school closing will "hurt our community."

"I get along with all the kids," Thompson said. "If they see something wrong, they come get me."

Thompson said he is being assigned as a custodian at the Kane Middle School.

The Mt. Jewett Charter Coalition is planning to open a Charter School to fill the void left by the closing of the elementary school. However, the proposed Charter School will not open until the 2008-09 school year.

According to a school district feasibility study, the date of the original construction of the Mt. Jewett school is "unknown but assumed to be in the 1930s."

Part of the original structure was demolished to make way for the current classroom wing built in 1962. The gym is part of the original building, which has a basement and houses the mechanical systems and provides storage.

The school on Main Street (Route 6) sits on 1.5 acres, according to the feasibility study.