Just mention the one-room schoolhouses of old, and most people react with nostalgia. Often, though, they consider that this concept has gone the way of the horse and buggy. Where the structures of one-room schools still exist, they often have become community club centers, historical monuments, barns, or abandoned buildings. But the school in the little Texas Hill Country town of Doss, Texas, is proof that the spirit of the one-room schoolhouse lives on.

To get to Doss, take Highway 87 north out of Fredericksburg. Eleven miles later, turn left by the Hill Top Café on to Ranch Road 648. After traveling twelve miles, you crest a hill while negotiating a curve, and suddenly the Doss Valley opens up in the distance. Nestled in the center of this ranching country and surrounded by scenic hills lies the small, picturesque community of Doss.

Just across the road from the historical St. Peter Lutheran Church stands the campus of the Doss Consolidated Common School District. Although settlers established the first Doss school in 1884, the school moved to its present location in 1894. In 1905 residents tore down a frame school building there and constructed a one-room limestone school that now boasts a historical marker. In the most current building on the site, constructed in 1927, Mrs. Clarilean Friedrich teaches twelve Kindergarten through fourth graders in one classroom while Mrs. Carrie Bierschwale teaches nine fifth through eighth graders in another. Two other rooms function as the library and teacher aide rooms. Not exactly a one room school house, but as close as you’ll find today. More importantly, the methods of teaching and the values espoused there have deep roots in those early schools while still incorporating the best of modern education.

Each school day begins with the arrival of two small busloads of kids. The children play on the playground and the outdoor basketball court until several students hoist the Texas and the American flags. Then Mrs. Biersch ...

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