Until the mid-twentieth century, Amish children attended one-room public schools near their homes. But as rural schools began to consolidate in the 1940s and 1950s, Amish parents faced a difficult decision. They had to agree to send their children to large, more distant schools or defy state laws regarding compulsory education. Then, in 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Amish had the right to operate their own small, private schools. "In the years since the high court's decision," writes former Amish teacher Louise Stoltzfus, "these tiny institutions have become an integral part of the Amish landscape and community."

The One-Room Schoolhouse

The schools that Amish children attend today resemble a school from the 1890s rather than a modern structure. The buildings have one or two classrooms that hold twenty to thirty students, or scholars, as the Amish call their schoolchildren, in grades...