Monthly Archives: May 2023

The Winds of Change Are Blowin’!

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June 9 will mark my last day as a professional educator with the Helena Public Schools. This year has been a whirlwind, that’s for sure. Other than a week of skiing in Europe and one day at Great Divide outside Helena, I didn’t hit the slopes at all. It has been a busy year.

I was chair of the Certification Standards and Practices Advisory Council for the Montana Board of Public Education. One of the council’s delegated responsibilities for decades has been to update and publish the Montana Code of Ethics for Teachers in our state. Some know that the council, with able-bodied leadership from council members in the field, revised the code to include such critical goals in education as diversity, equity, and inclusion. This was at odds with the Governor’s Office. They, along with other members of the general public, provided any number of right-wing bullet points lambasting the proposed changes. The council opted to adopt the code as written by the professional educators and supported by the educator preparation programs within the state. This led directly to the Governor supporting a bill that eliminated the council from state statute (code). Despite public testimony attesting to the importance of the council, and despite the fact that it was slated for elimination by way of ‘red-tape reduction,’ and despite the fact that the fiscal note attached to the bill did NOT have any savings to the Board of Public Education’s budget, the legislature opted to eliminate this standing council that had advised the Board of Public Ed for decades.

I also have been working hard to further the arts in our community as President of the Myrna Loy in town. This organization, which provides live performances, artist residencies, programs to area youth, and a large selection of independent films to Helena audiences, is one of the things I am proudest to have been involved with during the past couple decades in Helena.

The Helena Public Schools have been hit especially hard with fiscal realities over the past few years, due in no small part to a decline in enrollment on account of East Helena’s new high school. The funding decrease has made serving on our union’s negotiations team all the more difficult, consuming hundreds of hours of my time.

I have also continued to proudly serve on the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards’ national Board of Directors. I also have retired from the Montana Association of Student Councils as their Executive Director of only a year. Before that, though, I served as the Associate Director for the past couple decades with Jane Suberg.

Through it all, I have continued innovating and trying new things in the classroom. I want to end my career in Helena every bit as strong as when I came here in the fall of 2004.

The question last fall became, “What Next?”

I had no idea. I thought of university level work, but felt a yearning to return to working overseas as I had done in Kumamoto, Japan at the start of my career in 1993-94. About Thanksgiving, I was asked if I would apply for a social studies position at the Uruguayan American School (https://www.uas.edu.uy/). Three intense interviews, and a lengthy Email exchange with both the Principal and the Director as well as much self-discovery/reflection, led me to accepting a position at the school.

In July, I will go to Montevideo, Uruguay and find a new home near the sea. Here are a few sites with a bit more information about my soon-to-be-home:

I don’t know much about my teaching assignment yet, but I do know I am experiencing a flood of emotions at this time: anxiety, excitement, apprehension, accomplishment, and love. The staff members I have ‘met’ online at the school sure seem to enjoy their jobs – I can’t wait! Further, I have discovered Uruguay has an excellent varietal of red wine – the Tennat. I look forward to having much more free time in my life, allowing me to spend time with loved ones and soak up my surroundings in a new land.

I am excited to discover more of Uruguay’s flavors as well as the culture, language, people, and it’s landscapes. I’m sure I’ll be posting photos and updates once I’ve relocated and George and I have found a place we’ll call home. Stay tuned, people!