Dayton students get special treatment

Not long ago, Dr. Dave Hafer wasn’t a big fan of his local elementary school.

“Why are we spending all this money on Dayton School?” he would grumble each time he drove by the schoolhouse. “We refurbished it and put a bunch of money into it for a few kids. Why are we not busing these kids to Polson or Lakeside?”

His negative attitude continued until he signed up for a computer class at the school, taught by Dayton teachers. Although the class was for adults, the conversation turned to the school and its children.

“I saw what compassion these teachers had and the responsibility they take on for educating these little kids,” Hafer said. “I listened to their struggle; they were concerned that if their numbers dropped, the school system would close.”

Enrollment at Dayton School had climbed steadily until the economy collapsed, supervising teacher Nichole Fant said.

Over the last two years, the student population has fluctuated between 28 and 48 students. As numbers drop, so does state funding.

“The teachers were worried about the closing of the school, not because of their jobs being lost, but because of the little kids and what might happen to them,” Hafer said.

The students, who are in kindergarten through sixth grade, score exceptionally well on standardized tests — so clearly the teachers are doing something right, he added.

The teachers’ passion for the school was enough to completely change Hafer’s mind from critic to supporter. He asked if the teachers might like people who are specialists in their fields to give presentations at the school. Hafer, a retired oral and maxillofacial surgeon, could think of several friends in the medical field who might want to speak.

“They were just getting ready to do a section on health systems of the body,” Hafer recalled. “They said, ‘Oh man, would that be great.’”

So Hafer talked to his friend, semiretired cardiologist Bill Highfill of Kalispell, and asked, “Would you be interested in investing in the future?”

Highfill agreed right away, Hafer said.

“I asked him, ‘Are you capable of talking to first- through sixth-graders?’ He said, ‘It’s easier than talking to adults.’”

Highfill used a posterboard body, a model of a heart and a real pacemaker to teach students about the circulatory system and the heart. Students in third through sixth grades listened to the heart with a stethoscope, took one another’s pulse and blood pressure and viewed the heart’s four chambers through a portable echocardiogram.

“He had their absolute attention; 100 percent of their enthusiasm was directed toward him,” Hafer said.

The next professional Hafer scheduled was Dr. Wayne Miller, a retired ear, nose and throat surgeon who lives in Kalispell. Miller brought a detailed chart of the ear and a tuning fork to assist his presentation.

“Ears are like fingerprints. No two are alike,” he told the students.

He stressed the importance of protecting ears from loud noises, the most common reason for hearing loss.

“It was a very, very involved lecture, breaking down the ear, the cochlear and balance system, and [the students] were just intrigued, sitting on the edge of their chairs,” Hafer said. “They asked thousands of questions, great questions.”

The students were every bit as attentive when “Dr. Dave” gave his presentation on oral hygiene.

To the third- through sixth-graders, Hafer showed X-rays and tooth castings and discussed tooth anatomy and proper tooth care. He used a garbage can to show first- and second-graders how to care for their teeth and stressed the importance of brushing their whole mouths — teeth, cheeks, gums, tongue and all.

“You wouldn’t just clean the bottom, would you?” he asked the class.

Hafer already is lining up specialists to visit Dayton School next year.

World-class violinist Wai Mizutani and his wife are going to put on a concert on the first day of school and teach students about sound and hearing. Artists Mark Ogle and Nick Oberling are going to talk about art and teach students how to paint. Attorney Doug Wold is planning presentation about government.

Special events like these are what students remember long after their school days are over, Hafer said, and these visits might just shape students’ futures.

“We already have one little boy in the school who said he wants to be a doctor,” he said.

Those interested in speaking at the school should call Dayton School at 849-5484 or Fant at 253-7909.

Amy Mackey, grandmother of a Dayton student, contributed to this story.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.