More than anything, Ida Bidson wants to become a teacher. To do that, she needs to finish eighth grade so she can go on to high school. But when the one-room school in Ida’s remote Colorado town closes unexpectedly, that dream seems unattainable. Her only hope is to keep the school open without anyone finding out. Yet even a secret school needs a teacher. Ida can’t be it . . . or can she?

Behind the Book

Avi writes:

I’ve long been fascinated by one-room school houses. At one time there were thousands of them all over the country. If you go to a school in what is referred to as a “consolidated” school district, chances are that back in the 1960s a whole lot of one-room school houses consolidated to make that district. You may have grandparents who went to such schools. In Colorado, where I live, a few still exist! One of the things that interests me about these schools is how older students helped the younger ones learn, and how the schools often functioned as a large family, and were often the social center of a whole area. When I was working on the book I visited some one-room schools that still function.