In the Four Corners region of rural southwest Colorado is Battle Rock Charter School--a one-room school attended by students in grades 1-6 that live in McElmo Canyon. For most of the 1900s, the canyon's isolation meant that people lived and worked as they had in the previous century, and the community was allowed to retain its tiny school because of the distance and dangers of transporting students to the regional school. In the 1990s, the road into the canyon was paved, and urban settlers arrived. At the same time, threatened with closure, Battle Rock was converted to a charter school. This book depicts the 1999-2000 school year at Battle Rock Charter School and the conflicts over education between long-time ranchers and farmers and the new urban arrivals. Chapters depict the daily lives of canyon residents, the adjustment of newcomers, racial relations and the poor treatment of American Indians, community struggles at school board meetings, and the efforts of the school's teacher to provide a good education based on the local environment and community. (Contains 20 references in a selected bibliography and an index.) (SV)