Montana Small Schools Alliance

Featured Schools and People





Susan Luinstra Named National Rural Teacher of the Year

 

             At a banquet in her honor, the National Rural Education Association awarded Susan Luinstra the 2007 National Rural Teacher of the Year.  This year’s event took place in Oklahoma City and marks the organization’s centennial.

            Luinstra, a Montana native, has been teaching at Bynum for 26 years.  Last spring she was chosen to be the Montana Rural Teacher of the Year by the Montana Association of County School Superintendents.  At that celebration, in Helena, thirteen of her fourteen students (one had the flu), their parents (some of whom were Susan’s former students), and pretty much everyone in the Bynum community drove the 110 miles to surprise her with a musical tribute.  They explained through verse how much they loved their teacher and learning in a multi-level classroom.

 

            A master teacher, Luinstra combines the best of tradition with modern teaching components.  The students are very supportive of each other, but at the same time they learn respect for their peers and adults, to think for themselves, to be honest and understanding, and to have a strong work ethic. Music and art are important components in this one room school, but the students also do well on the state tests.

            Bynum is in Teton County on the Rocky Mountain Front and at one time had four teachers.  It now has just one with 14 students.

            Last year’s state winner, Allison Nys, of Pioneer School in Yellowstone County, was the national runner up.  Both women had their way paid to the national convention, and their schools received a check.

            Also at this year’s convention, Claudette Morton, Executive Director of the Montana Small Schools Alliance, received the Exemplary Practices Award for “enriching resources at isolated rural schools” and ensuring that students from small schools receive the same quality education as those in larger schools.  This spring she was chosen by the George Lucas Education Foundation to be one of the “Daring Dozen” of exceptional education activists who are “dedicated to enlightenment and reform.




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