By Tyler Dahlgren

Intro

Autumn’s colors are spectacular along Highway 275, which takes form north of Fremont, runs through Norfolk and climbs north all the way to the foot of The Sandhills in O’Neill.

In between, there are a handful of charming and proud small towns that beckon for a quick pit-stop and a friendly conversation with a smiling store clerk or coffee shop regular. Clearwater comes first, then there’s Ewing 10 miles to the west. Orchard sits some 13 miles north, along Highway 20.

On a map, the three nearly identically-sized communities form a triangle, a fitting form of symbolism that we’ll get to here soon.

We’d been down this road before. Back in 2017, we toured schools in each community and another up in Verdigre. Just a handful of years ago, the Clearwater, Orchard and Verdigre operated as NE Unified District #1, pooling resources and valiantly doing whatever it took to keep their schools alive.

We never turned north on 513th Avenue in 2017, though. On Halloween afternoon, we finally did.

Those schools in Clearwater, Orchard and Ewing are no longer operational, but what if I told you they were still more than alive?

Welcome to Summerland Public Schools, a gorgeous facility plotted along a county road that used to be, for lack of a better term, the middle of nowhere. Now, it’s the beating heart of that triangle we told you about, a state-of-the-art school where the best of three proud communities come together as Bobcats.

“We’re still small town, rural people, we just have a little bigger of a building now,” said superintendent Molly Aschoff, who is in her first year at the school that’s been building its own special culture for five years now. “Our students and staff are building new traditions and new pride for Summerland, and we see that happening all the time. That's just a carryover of the pride that they had in their small schools. I don't think you can beat anything like the environment that a small town, small school provides. And we have the luxury of providing that with some very progressive, amazing updated facilities and opportunities just because we are a little bit bigger, we can offer a little bit more.”

Aschoff came from ESU 8 in Neligh, where she spent 14 years and served as administrator. She worked closely with these schools and watched this place come to life, and she knew what she was walking into.

“I've watched their journey and had seen everything that had happened, and for them to get to this point, it was just such a success for them,” Aschoff said. “Coming here, it was just super exciting. I knew a lot of the teachers and knew the staff was going to be an excellent staff. It was something I've wanted to do and it was just a great time to do it.”

Her notion was quickly confirmed. Before the school year, Aschoff visited each community and spent time with stakeholders. She brought popsicles to the kids at the swimming pool and swung by the library for a meet-and-greet. By the time the first bell of the year rang, she was in a groove. 

“The people have made it so easy to just fit in and continue going because they're all really, really good people and I believe that they really care about our kids and that's the most important thing,” Aschoff said before bringing up Summerland’s two principals. “Cathy Cooper is our elementary principal, and she’s amazing. She comes from Orchard and has seen it all. She brings the history that we need sometimes. Jacob Birch is in his first year as principal of our junior high and high school, and he just has a passion and brings an energy that is contagious.”

By October, Aschoff was eager to show off all the great things happening at the beautiful school in the middle of nowhere, which intentionally pays homage to the three special communities that gather there. Clearwater, Orchard and Ewing even have their histories enshrined on plaques in the school’s main corridor.

“I'm a firm believer that it takes a village to educate a child,” Aschoff said. “And that was kind of my theme for the year. It takes a village and it's the Bobcat way. Be the village. We are all going to look out for each other. If the kids are doing that, and they are, and we've got these three communities doing that, every kid should be successful.”

Students at Summerland are aware of the future they’re building, and the history they’re honoring.

“I feel like we took a lot of traditions from each school and combine them together and kind of created new traditions together and so I think that was really fun this year,” said junior Emma King, who is from Clearwater. “It's really great because it is good to be able to, with three schools combined, be able to get to know new people. I mean, I'm from a different school than they all went to, so it's really good to be able to meet new friends and just interact with people who didn't grow up in the same town as you and learn new stuff about them.”

Our day at Summerland was a bit of a whirlwind. We packed a lot into a short afternoon, mainly because there is a lot to see. The word culture gets used a lot in education, but what’s burgeoning at Summerland is as real as real gets.

Seeing it in person was a blast. Though a bit of a chore, capturing that magic in 2,000 words was too. So swing by and catch a game or a concert at Summerland some time. They’d sure be happy to have you.

“I see the great things they're doing every day, and I want other people to see that,” said Aschoff. “They do great academically. They do great with sports. I want people to come and want to see our school, because we're pretty amazing. And as you walk through, you see that with the teachers and the kids, and so that's why I want people to see what I see every day.”

Football Buddies

Taryl Bazelman isn’t just a kindergarten teacher at Summerland. She’s also a football mom, and, before the start of last school year, she decided to do something fun for her freshman son and his teammates.

Why not blend the best of both worlds, she thought, by pairing her kindergarteners up with high school football players. Football Buddies was an instant hit.

“One of my Marzano goals is to build relationships, so I guess that played a part in it,” Bazelman said. “We were just trying to get more people to the games and to spark relationships. We paired them up, and it’s been going since.”

The kindergarteners meet with their Friday night heroes on the mornings of a game day, bringing their player’s favorite treat from home and spending some quality time together. Oftentimes, the football players will return the favor and bring their kiddo a treat, too. One player even gave his buddy a football to practice with at home.

“They like it just as much as the kindergartners do,” said Bazelman’s fellow kindergarten teacher Mackenzie McClennan. “Now they’re hanging out in the mornings, playing games and hanging out. It’s gone way above what we ever expected it to be.”

Coaches and student managers have buddies, too. They’re discovering their own potential as role models, and setting a positive example that only enriches a culture that fosters friendships across the entire student body.

“Just to see the impact they have on those little kids’ lives, to where those kids are excited every single day to see them, it’s really been neat to see,” said head football coach Tom Thramer. “It helps them understand, ‘I have to be a model citizen, not just for my parents, but for every little kid here at school.’”

It didn’t take long for the football team to take ownership of the new program, though some were a little nervous at first.

“By the end of the year, they weren’t scared at all,” said Bazelman. “They’re high-fiving and they’re excited to get to see their buddies on game days.”

The day before our visit and two days before Summerland’s 46-0 playoff victory over South Loup, the football players signed inflatable footballs for their buddies to take home. To a bunch of future Summerland Bobcats, those autographs mean everything in the world.

“Our kids love going to see them,” said Thramer. “It lights up their day, and it develops a bond between the elementary and the high school kids. I think our culture here is phenomenal.”

That’s not just coachspeak, either. Though Thramer is pretty good at that, too.

“We talk about it all the time,” he said. “You’re not just playing for someone, you’re playing for three communities. So represent those three communities and our school as best you can. Our students are proud to do that.”

Keep the Quote

A good, strong culture is only sustainable through accountability and expectation. If you’re reminded of something enough times, it finds a place in your subconscious. Good deeds become good habits.

Summerland Elementary counselor Denise Meyer’s “Keep the Quote” started simple. She saw a counselor from a different district post about it, and decided to give it a shot in her own building.

The idea has quickly become a school favorite.

“Each week I pick a quote, and that’s kind of the theme for the week,” said Meyer. “It’s usually centered on kindness, and then teachers and staff can nominate students who are exemplifying that quote during the week to win a poster with the quote on it.”

Keep the Quote winners get their pictures on the school’s Facebook page, and proudly take home a blurb to their parents. 

“It’s something they strive to win before they’re out of the Elementary,” said Meyer, who agreed that relationships are the foundation of Summerland’s culture. “It’s my job all day, every day to build relationships and make sure our students have that feeling of being somewhere they belong. It’s kind of the base of everything we do here.”

Years down the road, when former students look back at their time at Summerland, that’s what Aschoff hopes they cherish and remember the most.

“I want them to feel that they were noticed, that they were important, and that they had opportunities to learn and grow and become good adults,” Aschoff said. “Everybody needs to feel they belong, and to feel they’re important. I want them to look back and remember how the teachers cared for them.”

Bobcat Catch of the Day and Monday Motivation 

Elementary principal Cathy Cooper searched far and wide for a Bobcat-blue beta fish before finding Bob in a pet store in Norfolk. Now, he’s an unofficial school mascot and a quasi-celebrity who’s been here in this building from the start.

“He’s here to honor students who exemplify traits of our Bobcat Pledge,” said Cooper. “Our Bobcat Pledge asks us to choose kindness, so if a kid is kind, they’re nominated. The pledge also asks us to act responsibly, and to treat others with respect. If a student is doing those things, or exemplifying safety, then they are nominated.”

Bob, swimming leisurely inside his bowl, is then carted to either a classroom or a cafeteria, where he poses for a picture with the always excited and very honored Bobcat Catch of the Day. The picture is shared on Facebook, too, as a beacon of pride.

“They’re just beaming,” laughed Cooper, who carried the tradition on from her time in Orchard (R.I.P. CJ). “It ties in with Mrs. Meyer’s Keep the Quote and what we do with Monday Motivation. These are the traits we want to see, and we like to celebrate it when we do. Anything we can do to promote that and to make the kids feel good, we’re going to do it.”

The Monday Motivations are a weekly energy boost in their own right. First thing every Monday morning, Cooper and her staff set off to get their students jazzed up for the day and the week ahead.

“That was one of the traditions from Orchard that came over to Summerland, and it’s really kind of exploded,” said Cooper. “We play music, kids come into the gym and they dance until everyone arrives. We pick a different activity every week. It might be theme-based on a holiday. If we want to build a strong culture, we have to become almost a family and do things together to promote that.”

Cooper has an interesting perspective, having been one of the administrators we interviewed back in 2017. Though a bit daunting five years ago, the move to Summerland has turned out to be one of the most rewarding experiences of her career.

“I do believe that everyone still wants to hang onto the heritage of the previous schools, and that’s important,” she said. “Orchard, Clearwater, Ewing, you can see it all, but then you see the culmination of Summerland, and it just kind of gives you goosebumps. We’re proud of our histories, but wow, look at what we’ve become. Togetherness is our true theme, and you can feel that with the kids.”

Cooper thinks about the Unity Walk that was held a couple weeks ago, of how her little students walked hand-in-hand with high schoolers. Hand-in-hand with their role models. She thinks about Football Buddies and how excited her little students get for games under the Friday night lights.

What she said, it all rings true.

“One of my kids today, when I was walking through the hallway, he said something about my butterfly costume and I asked, ‘Well, who are you going to be?’” said Cooper. “He gave me the name of a senior. He’s dressing up as a senior for Halloween today. How cool is that?”

It’s pretty darn cool.

Bobcat Academies

The ultimate embodiment of everything we’ve shared to this point, Summerland’s Bobcat Academies, a 7-12 program that’s replicated at the elementary level too, is the grand finale.

High school science teacher Carrie Kucera and counselor Kendra Shrader are part of the school’s 7-12 MTSS team, which set a goal to boost social/emotional learning.

“If a kiddo doesn’t feel safe, or if they have other things going on, math is the last thing they’re going to want to focus on,” said Shrader, whose focus turned to the 25-minute homeroom periods built into each day’s schedule. “We decided to utilize some of those and focused on building relationships between student-to-student, student-to-teacher, teacher-to-teacher, just all across the board.”

Those sessions started with seniors, half of them in one class and half of them in another. That didn’t yield the results the MTSS team was looking for, Shrader said. 

“We weren’t getting the bonding we wanted to have happen, and we weren’t seeing our older kids being role models for our younger kids,” she continued. “The next year, Carrie and I split them up. It was random, and each group had two or three students from each grade level. They name themselves and start functioning as one unit.”

Just like that, Bobcat Academies was born. On Tuesdays, the 14 different “Buddy Dens” are presented with an activity, whether it be a uniquely fun task like squeezing in tight for a picture with a Bobcat or reenacting a famous scene from a Disney classic. On Thursdays, they come together to compete.

“It’s been really neat to see the seventh and eighth-graders going up to seniors and forming those relationships,” said Kucera. “You see them giving each other high fives and it’s really fostered some relationships that likely wouldn’t have been.”

The dens are even responsible for the school’s budding birthday balloon tradition. When it’s a student’s birthday, they’re given a balloon and a ticket redeemable for a treat during first period.

“Our students are noticing things like that, and they’re intentional about doing something simple like wishing a peer a happy birthday,” said Shrader. “It’s always nice to be recognized by your peers. They don’t necessarily always understand the importance of the impact something like that can have. Especially the older students. I don’t think they realize how much they influence the younger students, but I’ve definitely seen it change some kids. That fist bump in the hallway can have such a big impact.”

For upperclassmen at Summerland, opportunities to set an example abound.

“As upperclassmen, I feel like there's a lot of things that are done here to give you a chance to make an impact on those young kids,” said senior Lydia Robertson. “ I think it's fun just to be role models for the younger students and just have everybody here.”

Fellow junior Rebecca Napier agreed.

“It's really fun to play some games with people to get to know them more and learn what they like and what their interests are,” she said. “The competitions are so fun. The teachers like it too because they're competitive. I also like how we combine the elementary. Some days we go to the elementary to play games with them, and that’s always a ton of fun.”

Those elementary visits are priceless, for both the younger and older students.

“I think it's really fun because then we just get to talk about stuff and get to know each other,” said fifth-grader Amelia Teal. “It's really nice because you just get to hang out with them and you get to know their personalities."

Last year, Summerland’s Home Economics class made 800 Christmas cookies. The Buddy Dens then decorated the cookies and delivered them to Clearwater, Orchard and Ewing while singing carols.

“That was one of the things our towns missed, with us being out here, was seeing the kids in town as much as they used to,” said Shrader. “So we loaded up all two-hundred 7th through 12th-graders and we visited each town caroling and passing out cookies. The people really missed that. They’re asking if we’re coming back to do that again this year already.”

The life of a school counselor can be heavy at times, so Shrader welcomes the light reprieve that Bobcat Academies has provided. Aschoff said levity is important, and so is having fun.

“We’ve given teachers permission, so to speak, to just sit down and have fun,” Aschoff said. “We don’t have to instruct, we don’t have to lesson plan, it’s just sit down, get to know the kids, learn something new about them, and have fun together.”

At first, teachers were hesitant about giving up those 25 minutes they’d long used for remedial tasks and tidying up odds and ends. Then they saw the pay-off with their own eyes, and the buy-in skyrocketed.

“We’ve seen the Den leaders get into it more the better their Dens do and the closer their Dens are,” Shrader said. “To sweeten the pot a little bit, we’ve gotten permission to pass out Jeans Day passes to the winners, and that’s a hot commodity among the teachers.”

Kucera credits Summerland’s administration for leading by example. They don’t just talk about The Bobcat Way, she said, they exemplify it. There’s an energy in the building, and it’s contagious.

“We’re a village, we’re doing things The Bobcat Way,” she said. “If you see trash, pick up that trash. It’s been fun to see that catch fire and gain momentum. I feel really lucky to be part of the group here. It’s a really, really cool place to work.”

They’re in a bigger school now, sure, but the building is still full of small-town kids.

“I feel like that mentality is still there in our kids and in our parents, especially for those who attended Clearwater, Orchard or Ewing and remember those days,” said Shrader. “Some of our littles never went to the individual schools, so it might be a little bit different for them, but their families remember. We're still small town kids in a little bit bigger school. I’m glad for that. I like the small town kids. They do chores before school and they sometimes come here in their muddy boots. They're hardworking, good kids.”

They come from Clearwater, Orchard and Ewing. From acreages and farms all across this piece of Antelope and Holt Counties. They gather here at Summerland, under one roof, and they do some pretty remarkable things.

“Now, we’re one big community,” said Aschoff. “We’re Summerland.”