History of JDBS

The school was named for Jennie Lind Dickerson Blake who was born on July 16, 1878. Jennie grew up on the family farm and attended Dickerson Hill School, a small district schoolhouse which is located today on Murray Hill Road. Jennie began teaching in this small schoolhouse at the age of 17. For the next few years Jennie taught school in the old village of Hill. She met and later married Bert L. Blake in 1899.

In 1909 a modern elementary school was built in the old village of Hill. Jennie became the teaching principal. She held that position until the village was moved in 1940-41.

A new school was built in the present village of Hill and named to honor Jennie's many years of dedicated teaching in Hill. She continued to teach until 1945 when she retired.

Jennie D. Blake Elementary School was relocated again in 2001. The village renovated the town hall, which was more able to meet the needs of the growing school population then was the old school building. At that time the town offices were moved to the old school building.

Today we have an enrollment of 68 students in kindergarten through sixth grades. Our school is made up of both single and multi-age classrooms. Multi-age means that students from two different grades are in the same classroom. The teachers in these classrooms plan for the education of both grades using the Common Core State Standards. Student placement is based on a variety of factors, one of which is the number of students in a particular grade. Our faculty of five classroom teachers, a part time special education teacher, a principal, four para-educators and part time art, music and PE teachers, and Guidance Counselor are all highly qualified.