Boys use jump ropes to lasso the girls, who are pretending they are cattle, during recess at school in Karval on Aug. 19, 2015.
RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
Bradyn Fox, 12, left, can't remember an answer to a quiz during Future Farmers of America on Aug. 19, 2015, while practicing with his partner Kevin Harris, 12.
RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
Students watch as a middle school student adds weight to a popsicle stick bridge that he build for a science project on Feb. 25, 2016. The kids crossed their fingers as he added 20 more pounds.
RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
Students raise chickens in the baseball dugout outside the school in Karval, Colorado, August 19, 2015. The school has gotten so small that the students have to drive to neighboring towns play in activities such as baseball, volleyball, and football.
RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
Ashlyn Mosher, 5, is a kindergarten student in a classroom joined with first- and second-grade students Karval on May 16, 2016.
RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
Teacher Tammy Yoder looks back into her classroom as students start to line up for lunch on May 20, 2015. Isaiah Yoder, 6, waits in the doorway wearing spurs along with fencing pliers tucked into a sheath.
RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
Hunter Fox, 15, chases a pig to get it back in its pin at his home in Karval on June 9, 2015.
RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
Rowan Peterson, 7, swims with her step-brothers Bradyn Fox, 12, center, and Hunter Fox, 15, in the livestock water tank at their home in Karval on June 9, 2015. The three are on summer break from school and spend much of their day catching frogs and swimming.
RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
Nelson Taylor watches his grandkids compete in a potato sack race on the last day of school on May 20, 2015. Because there was no graduating senior that year, field day was the last school function of the 2015 school year.
RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
Students hug Superintendent Brenda Smith on the last day of school on May 20, 2015. Smith's husband got a job in New Mexico and the superintendent left her job in the middle of the 2016 school year.
RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
From left, seniors Janna Pelster, Cody Mayo and Marissa Harris joke with each other as they sell candy and drinks during homecoming on Sept. 15, 2015.
RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
Teacher Sharon Irwin walks from school across the street to the home where she stays on school nights in Karval on March 29, 2016. For a low cost, the school district provides the home for Irwin to reside in during the school week while she is teaching. Irwin lives about two hours from Karval in Colorado Springs and goes back there for the weekends. The school district has a hard time getting local teachers, so it started providing the home in order to help attract teachers from outside the area.
RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
Teacher Sharon Irwin grades papers in the home provided to her in Karval on March 29, 2016.
RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
Seniors Maggie Corder and J.D. Pessoa, a foreign exchange student from Brazil, were named Karval School homecoming king and queen on Sept. 15, 2015.
RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
Students gather to watch the homecoming bonfire on Sept. 15, 2015.
RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
There is no photo frame for the class of 2015 on the wall at Karval School on Aug. 19, 2015. In 2015, the school for the first time in its history had no graduating senior due to lack of enrollment.
RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
Clay Mayo puts his graduation cap on top of his cowboy hat as he walks into the school before commencement at Karval High School on May 15, 2016.
RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
From left, Janna Pelster, Clay Mayo, Marissa Harris, J.D. Pessoa, and Maggie Corder sit on stage during graduation at Karval High School on May 15, 2016.
RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
Recruiter Sgt. Ricardo Villalobos congratulates Janna Pelster during a party celebrating her high school graduation on May 15, 2016. Pester joined the Marines and plans to ship out in a few months.
RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
Sisters Josey Kraving, 6, left, and Jade Kraving, 8, celebrate their cousin's graduation from Karval High School on May 15, 2016. Clay Mayo graduated and plans to stay in Karval and work on his family's ranch.
RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
1 of 20
Boys use jump ropes to lasso the girls, who are pretending they are cattle, during recess at school in Karval on Aug. 19, 2015.
Karval makes front-page news! Thank you. This friendly town deserves the good press. I have attended the Karval Mountain Plover Festival for years, and while I have already seen that celebrated bird, with its own story and contradictory name, I keep returning because of the welcoming community.
Expect the unexpected in Karval. A Brazilian exchange student in a graduating class of five. Twelve inches of snow during the festival last spring (which required that the chuckwagon dinner be reconfigured inside). The festival has been an opportunity for an urban dweller like me to become familiar with rural ranch life.
I would recommend anyone looking for a special experience in late April to turn their sights east.
C. Greenman,Lakewood
Submit a letter to the editor via or check out our for how to submit by e-mail or mail.
