A pioneer school located in Harrisburg, Banner County, Nebraska

PROJECT HISTORY

 The Flowerfield pioneer school project is the brainchild of Penny Businga, Director of SOAR, a division of the Educational Service Unit 13. (See the web page E.S.U. on this web site)  Penny had a vision of an experience for area 4^th grade students to participate in a day of school as it would have been a hundred years ago.  Nebraska 4^th grade students study Nebraska history in their regular school curriculum.

Before she could begin organizing the curriculum for this project, Penny had to find a location in which to hold school.  Upon investigating several possibilities, she decided upon the Banner County Museum.  The Banner County Historical Society was more than willing to host the pioneer school. 

The Banner County Museum, located in Harrisburg, Nebraska, consists of a dozen buildings, one of which is a small log schoolhouse called the Flowerfield School.  It was moved to the museum grounds from the Flowerfield precinct in Banner County and was one of the very earliest schools built in the county.  It was from this building that the pioneer school project received its name.  The name and the rural setting of the museum seemed to be perfect.

With a location selected, Penny went about setting up a summer workshop for Panhandle elementary teachers to research and write a curriculum for the pioneer school.  Twenty-seven area teachers participated in the workshop and developed activities for students that would have been similar to those of 4^th graders in 1888.  The E.S.U. #13 hired a teacher to emulate the 1888 teacher.  The teacher and students would roll play as though they were actually in school a century ago.

The first classes were held in the fall of 1986.  Each area school brings their 4^th grade students, one class at a time, to participate in the Flowerfield School.  Penny’s vision was in action.  Little did she anticipate the popularity of this project.  At the time of this writing (2005) the school has been in session for 18 years with a conservative estimated total  of 13,000 students participating through the years.