Schools shin

With the announcement that Beth Blatt, the principal of Heart Mountain Academy, is a contender for Wyoming’s principal of the year award, a statewide honor recognizing educators and administrators for excellence in their fields, we’re reminded of how fortunate our community is to have a bevy of capable, outstanding teachers and school leaders.

Earlier this year, Heart Mountain Academy math teacher Sean Murray was also nominated as teacher of the year and last week, the trustees of the Park 6 school board were honored by their peers at the Wyoming School Board Association conference. Chair Brandi Nelson was recognized as a member of the WSBA All-Wyoming School Board, the highest of the body’s individual honors.

We’re fortunate to have a school system that is as robust as ours, and we’re fortunate to have administrators who recognize the valuable work that is being  done by staff and faculty members.

With Heart Mountain, specifically, it’s heartening – please pardon our punning – to see educators working outside the traditional school structure being paid recognition for the work they are doing with our children.

Heart Mountain exists, in part, to give extra attention to students who may otherwise not thrive in a school environment. The teachers and staff allow the students, from sophomores to seniors, to have a less rigidly defined curriculum and more open structure to their school days.

In past, original pursuits, the students participated in a field trip to the Park County Animal Shelter where they helped clean the facility and also assisted in organizing a collection of items in the storage shed. They participated in a contest to design a unique idea for a shed or dog crate, which they would then pitch to community business people.

“When students chose Heart Mountain Academy,” Blatt has written, “they also chose an educational pathway to success based on their interests, passions and aspirations for their future. Internships, work experience and innovative opportunities give our students exposure to an education that connects with the real world.”

Connecting our students to the community, state and the world beyond qualifies as a lofty goal, one to inspire all educators and schools.