Friday is not only the last day of school, but it’s also last day EVER for Pleasant Valley Elementary School. Just before the start of the school year, last August, the School Board approved its closure, one of three schools in the Penn Valley District, due to declining enrollment, which is down to 185. 5th through 7th graders will move to Ready Springs K-8 next fall, combining for one larger junior high program. District Superintendent Tori England says there will be more academic benefits, especially for current Ready Springs middle school students…

click to listen to Tori England

Meanwhile, in a departure from the original plan, current Pleasant Valley 4th graders will be moving, as 5th graders, to Williams Ranch School, which is expanding from a K-3 to a K-5. England says that’s helped reduce the cost of the changes, from about $140,000 to $60,000. Pleasant Valley Principal Teena Corker, who will become principal of Ready Springs, says a few of her teachers have been at the 149-year-old campus for their entire careers, or over 30 years. She says they’re also leaving behind a lot of history and held a huge gathering last month for alumni…

click to listen to Teena Corker

Corker says although there is a lot of emotion with the closure, approving the change over 9 months ago has allowed students, staff, and parents to adjust and there is excitement and anticipation.