Park County School District 1 thanked a group of retirees with 230 combined years of experience at the May 12 board meeting, ranging from Southside Elementary School’s principal to Powell High School’s longtime science teacher and successful track and field coach. 

It was fitting that the longest serving member, middle school math teacher Dale Estes — retiring after 42 years — was the only one not able to make the meeting as he was busy coaching. 

Estes was honored along with PHS science teacher and longtime track coach Scott Smith (35 years), Southside para Sue Staebler (29 years), Southside teacher Tammy McCrae (27 years), Westside teacher and high school drama coach Jeff Greaham (27 years), Southside Principal Scott Schiller (22 years), Parkside teacher Jill Schmidt (20 years), middle school teacher Delina Horton (16 years) and bus driver Larry Gaisford (12 years).

“You’re certainly all going to be missed,” board chair Kim Dillivan said. 

Dale Estes

Superintendent Jay Curtis said the best example of what  Estes has meant to the district throughout his 42 years came just four years ago when he was named district teacher of the year. 

“When I announced him as our teacher of the year, every eighth grade student rejoiced as if they had just won the super bowl,” Curtis recalled, adding that despite all of the years, “I don't know that there’s any slowdown in him.”

Estes’ principal Kyle Rohrer talked about the huge impact he’s had as a coach and teacher. He said humor is one of his greatest gifts and he’s always been willing to jump in and encourage kids. 

“I say, ‘if you ever wonder how to do it, look at Dale,’” Rohrer said. “An incredible man of character.”

Scott Smith

Powell High School principal Tim Wormald said while it wasn’t all in Powell, Smith’s cumulative teaching experience rivals Estes’, having been teaching, first in Montana and Idaho, since 1982. 

“I appreciate Scott’s wisdom and experience,” Wormald said. 

The principal noted Smith’s extensive special endorsements that enable him to teach any field of science possible, as well as math. 

Wormald’s three children have all had Smith as a teacher, and his oldest, he said, noted his classes are tough but he always made sure she understood the topics. 

His middle son Seeger simply said, “he’s a chill guy, for real.” 

On top of his teaching, Smith has won seven boys and three girls track and field team titles while coaching many individual champions, earning a WHSAA coaching award and a spot on the WHSAA Coaches Hall of Fame. 

“It’s been a great career, a great community to live in,” Smith said. 

Sue Staebler

Schiller said if you asked anyone at Southside who the “kindest person in the world is,” they’d all have the same answer: Sue Staebler. 

“She’s had a great impact on a lot of students,” Schiller said. 

He also noted the experience she was able to bring, not just nearly 30 years in the schools — a long time for anyone, especially a para, he noted — but the 12 years she spent as a park ranger prior specializing in geology. 

Schiller said she has also been well known over the years as the “amazing maker of treats” and said she’s baked countless Tupperware containers full of cookies over the years. 

Staebler said she moved to Powell when her oldest daughter was in second grade and she knew right away when taking her to Southside that this was the place to raise her kids — she thanked all the teachers for being a part of that success.

“I knew we hit the jackpot,” she said. “It’s just been amazing … My kids couldn’t have gotten a better education.” 

Tammy McCrae

Schiller called McRae “one of the most effective teachers I’ve ever known.” 

McRae taught every grade level at the school but wound up in a role Schiller said she really excelled at: reading recovery teacher. 

He said she’s someone willing to “search under every rock to get the last students across the finish line. She celebrated every success and never gave up on a child.”

Schiller admired how she took the risk to leave the classroom to help those who needed it most, even though she had done well in the classroom and could’ve stayed. 

McCrae said this was the best place for her to work and her kids to be educated. 

“I could never imagine another place to be,” she said. 

Jeff Greaham

Westside Principal Kelsey Tobin said Greaham “has a rare gift of making fourth grade feel like the coolest place on Earth” thanks to his large amount of Batman decor in his classroom and everything else he has brought to the district for decades. 

“This is an end of an era for our favorite science master, Dallas Cowboys super fan, resident rock star and passionate educator and high school drama coach,” she said. “Jeff truly has left a lasting impact on countless students and our Westside staff.”

Greaham also served as the high school drama coach for years, and Tobin said in that role he shared another of his passions.  

“He's inspired the kids in a completely different way at the high school level, encouraging them, building confidence, creativity and connection, both on and off the stage,” Tobin said. 

Scott Schiller

Assistant Superintendent Jason Sleep, who initially hired  Schiller as his assistant principal at Powell Middle School in 2004, said 20 minutes into his interview with Schiller he knew he had found the perfect candidate. 

“I was like, ‘yeah, this, this is going to be the guy for Powell Middle School,” Sleep recalled. “He just brought something a little different.”

Sleep praised his friend as one of the most humble people he’s ever known.

“He’s the glue that holds the admin team together,” Sleep said. “He always sees the best in people. He finds the best in kids and brings that out as well. I can't think of a more student focused human than Scott Schiller.”

Superintendent Jay Curtis said he’s having a hard time imagining his admin team without Schiller, who he called “the most logical outside the box thinker.”

Schiller thanked the board, his fellow building admins, said he’s never stopped learning from Sleep, and his team at Southside. 

“It’s really hard to be an educator these days, but I wouldn't have had it any other way,” he said. “I really appreciated my time here.”

Jill Schmidt

Parkside Principal Jason Hillman said Schmidt had asked him if he thought 20 years was a worthwhile tenure in the district. 

Hillman’s answer: “You influenced a generation of kids in a positive way.”

Then he mentioned her attributes, from being a good person, to fun, a great friend, filled with emotional intelligence and empathy and super chill. 

“She builds such strong relationships with kids,” he said. “Her room is the place where problems go away.”

Hillman said Schmidt is also someone who has the ability to know when something is wrong with her kids. 

“She has a unique ability to know if something is wrong, and the empathy to do something about it,” he said. “She can also tell when something is right and can be the biggest cheerleader in your life.”

Delina Horton

Horton spent more than 25 years in education, the last 16 at Powell Middle School as an English teacher. 

“She embodies what it means to be part of the team,” Rohrer said. “She leads by example every single day.”

Rohrer spoke of her humble nature and her willingness to always say thank you. He said she’ll track him down to thank him if he brings treats to teachers or sends a nice note. She’ll also track him down to talk about a new success she’s seen with one of her students. 

“She achieved innovative results, and much more beyond academics,” Rohrer said. “Powell Middle School and the sixth grade team will absolutely miss seeing Delina in the halls every day.”

Larry Gaisford

Transportation Coordinator Steve Janes said Larry Gaisford has been a fixture in the department for 12 years, the last of the original crew members there when he took over the department, he said. 

“We’re going to miss him,” he said, noting it’ll be hard to replicate Gaisford’s ability to be at the bus barn as early as Gaisford regularly was. 

“Over the years he's traveled a lot of miles and about half a million of those in a school bus,” Janes said. “He’s definitely seen some of the worst road conditions,” and got students to where they needed to go each time. 

Janes said Gaisford, Marine veteran, never let go of that demeanor, although “the kids were able to soften him up, not a lot, but a bit.”

(See upcoming editions for full stories on Estes, Smith and Schiller)