The Greek Island School With Only Two Students

On the small Greek island of Kalamos, a classroom that once welcomed dozens of children now has just two students.

Chryssa Ntalaka, the only teacher at the island’s remaining primary school, has watched the number of children decline year after year. This school year, only two sixth-graders are attending classes.

When the two children leave for middle school on the Greek mainland next year, the school is expected to close. The nearby kindergarten has already been shut for three years because there are not enough children.

Kalamos has around 80 year-round residents. A decade ago, about 40 children attended local schools and public daycare. Today, seven teenagers from the island travel by passenger boat across the Ionian Sea to attend school on the mainland.

The journey can be difficult. Strong winds sometimes make the sea crossing too dangerous, meaning students may miss classes. For young people growing up on the island, leaving for education and eventually finding work elsewhere can seem almost unavoidable.

Ntalaka has spent about 20 years teaching in remote communities and half of that time on Kalamos. She says the island has teachers who want to work there, but the bigger problem is that there are not enough children.

“All it would take for her school to remain open would be the arrival of two families,” according to the Associated Press report.

Kalamos is part of a much larger demographic challenge. Greece closed 75 schools this year because of falling enrollment and suspended or extended the suspension of classes at more than 400 others.

Similar problems are appearing on remote islands in Croatia, Japan and Italy. On the Italian island of Stromboli, a school recently reopened after two decades with just one student.

For residents of Kalamos, however, the issue is deeply personal. Teenager Antonis Aivaliotis says he would like to remain on the island because it is his home, but he sees limited opportunities there after graduation.

The empty desks on Kalamos therefore represent more than a school closure. They are a visible reminder of how the disappearance of young families can gradually change an entire community.

Source: Associated Press