Episode 8: Celebrating Shasta County's Teachers of the Year

In this inspiring episode, we hit the road to spotlight the incredible educators named Shasta County's 2024–2025 Teachers of the Year. Join us as we sit down inside real classrooms with three passionate teachers—Cory Poole, Rebecca Lahey, and Bill Hutt —to learn about their unique paths, philosophies, and the impact they're making on students every day.

✨ Featured Guests:

• Cory Poole – Math and Science Teacher, University Preparatory School (U-Prep)
  From aspiring aerospace engineer to passionate educator, Cory explains how a standout physics professor inspired his teaching journey. Now in his 20th year at U-Prep, he shares how he keeps calculus and physics engaging, builds meaningful student relationships, and encourages curiosity in a digital world.
• Rebecca Lahey – 2nd and 3rd Grade Teacher, Redding School of the Arts
  With 26 years in education, Rebecca shares how her family legacy and a transformative high school class led her into teaching. She emphasizes the importance of creating a safe, joyful classroom "family," and how RSA’s thematic and creative approach fuels student engagement and learning.
• Bill Hutt – 6th–8th Grade Social Studies & Math Teacher, Millville Elementary
  A former grocery business and Air Force professional turned educator, Bill reflects on 24 years in the classroom. He discusses the power of consistency, fairness, and connection, offering heartfelt insights on teaching in a rural, tight-knit school community where chickens and goats sometimes wander into class!

💡 Key Themes:

• The importance of relationship-building in education
• Creating safe and engaging learning environments
• Reflective practice and lifelong learning as a teacher
• School community culture and collaboration
• Advice for aspiring and new educators
• Hopeful visions for the next generation

🙌 Whether you're an educator, parent, or simply a fan of great storytelling, this episode is a moving tribute to the heart and soul of Shasta County schools—our teachers.

🎧 Tune in now to get inspired by the passion, wisdom, and warmth of these exceptional educators.

Transcript

CoryPoole

[00:00:00] Welcome back to Inspire Shasta. Uh, today's episode's gonna be a little bit different. Um, we are traveling around Shasta County to interview the teachers of the year for 20 24, 20 25, and today we have Cory Poole, who is a math and science teacher at U Prep. So nice to meet you Corey meet.

Thank you so much. Nice to meet, meet for being on our You're welcome. Inspire Shasta podcast. Glad you're here. Yeah, we're glad to be here. Um, so what we'd like to do is start a little bit, um, to get to know you, to talk a little bit about yourself. What inspired you to become a teacher and how long have you been in education?

Um, so growing up I think that pretty much everybody in my family and all my, you know, childhood friends probably would've said, oh, he's gonna be a teacher. I was always that kid in, in school that would help my classmates try to make sure that they understood that what was, what was going on. in high school I kind of moved away from that a little bit and I thought I was gonna want to go into engineering.

I was really interested [00:01:00] in, in aircraft and I, for a while I was going to do aerospace engineering and then go into Shasta College. I switched around a bit. I was like, oh, computers and do computer engineering. And then I had just a fantastic. Physics teacher, Joe Poland out at Shasta College and changed my major to physics.

I decided that I just loved the, the way he taught the subject, the way he made it understandable. The way he made everything exciting and you could tell that he really cared about his students. He really cared about making sure that they understood what was going on. And so not only did I end up switching my major, but I ended up going, you know what?

I, I want to be like him. I, I want to, to get up there and be able to share the passion of learning and about learning about a beautiful subject. And so that was probably what kind of really got me back on that track. I was originally thinking about being a college professor, but, at some point I decided [00:02:00] that the group of people that I wanted to help the most was really at this high school level.

The ones that were just. Kind of getting into it and figuring it out. I started, uh, teaching, uh, back in Baltimore, about 20 years ago. I'm actually from this area. I mentioned Shasta College. Um, after teaching there for a couple years, I joined UPrep in 2008, 2009. And so I've been here, been here since teaching math and science.

Mostly calculus and physics, but geometry, astronomy, whatever. What, what, whatever, I'm interested in and, and the school needs. That's excellent. Sounds like you've been teaching at this school for a really long time, and it's been a while. It's really great to hear that an educator had such an impact on you, especially a local educator, to have you look at the direction that you were going and pivot back to maybe what you originally thought you wanted to do.

 You know, we have all these ideas when we're younger, but I, I'm sure that all the students. Here and the staff are thankful that you pivoted back to education. Oh, thank you. So you were named Teacher of the year this [00:03:00] year. So what does that mean to you professionally and personally? I think mostly, you know, I am really excited to be able to represent our community of teachers.

I think that Shasta County, actually has a remarkable set of schools and educators. You know, everyone I've met is really passionate and cares about what they teach. If you look at our test scores. And you compare them to our socioeconomic status, we do really well. So it feels good to be able to, to represent the community, in, in that way.

It's been fun, hear from, you know, people I went to school with way back from a long time ago, congratulate me. And it feels good to know that I've proceeded in my career and I've sort of met some of those initial goals of doing things the right way and getting people inspired.

So I, I appreciate the award and it's good to know that I'm on the right track. Yeah. Well, and teaching can be quite the grind, and so I'm sure to be recognized and celebrated. Yeah, absolutely. Right. There are those moments where you're like, oh man, this is a lot of work.

So it definitely [00:04:00] feels. Good to have that reward. Yeah. So every teacher has a unique approach. and so how would you describe your teaching style and their secret sauce in the classroom? Because you don't get to be nominated as teacher of the year for any run of the mill teaching style.

 It's something that is awarded for your excellence in the classroom and how you impact students. I think going back to, to what I said about who I was inspired by, right. Just trying to share the passion. Let people know, you know, why I think the subject's beautiful and try to get them to see that beauty in the subject and learning.

Making sure to try to keep people enthusiastic and engaged. Make sure that people sort of make those meaningful connections to the world around them. And then just, keeping it a little bit fun and loose. To get, you know, the engagement of students, right? Science and math can be right.

Math, math and science are those subjects, right? I definitely have the students that, you know, that's their thing, but also even, even at [00:05:00] the calculus level, a lot of students are taking it because, hey, it's the next math class. And of course you take that regardless of how interested you are in math. So just trying to, to make it fun and interesting and keep people sort of engaged and participating and make sure that, they know that I appreciate their work and effort that they put in. Yeah. That, that it's a partnership Yes. Between the teacher and the student. Absolutely. Excellent. Well, you are here at UPrep and UPrep has an reputation, for really strong academics. So what do you enjoy most about being part of the school community and how do you see supporting both students and teachers to thrive?

I've loved my nearly 20 years spent at UPrep, it's really a good school. Everybody here. You know, believes in the mission, which is primarily, you know, preparing students for that next level, going on to college and university. And having everybody buy into that is really important.

But I think what I like most about, U Prep is the fact that we. As a staff have always tried to make everybody feel like part of a family. All the students, all the [00:06:00] parents, just building all those relationships, engaging everyone at, you know, every level possible. And then, you know, I know this is true at every school, but just the amount of work and effort that all of the teachers put in to all the coaching and the extracurriculars, and again.

 Trying to make sure that every single student has something to attach to something that they love about school, even if they're not the most academically minded. And also having some teacher or staff member that they feel a strong connection with. And I think as a staff, we've done really good at, doing that.

So I, I really. Appreciate being part of the team at U Prepp. Yeah. Celebrating the culture within the school and the relationships that are built really important for, so everybody feels like they belong, right? Absolutely. The staff, the students and the parents. You had mentioned that you are where you're at today because of.

Somebody that was your teacher. And so as a teacher who has been a teacher in the classroom for [00:07:00] many years and has received the teacher of the year award this year, what advice would you give new teachers or those who are considering a career in education? I think one of the main things that I quickly realized, right, as a, as a new teacher, I thought it was going to be.

All about, you know, having subject level knowledge and knowing all those pedagogical, and ways to do things and all that stuff is, is definitely important. But just realizing that it really is about the connections to the students and those relationships. And if, and if you have those, if you build those towards the start of the year, then all of a sudden you have a group of students that 

will thrive in your classroom. They'll, even if it's not their favorite thing, they'll do it because you ask them to. Yeah. And so if they know that, that you care, that's the most important thing. And so, I'm not saying that that's your only focus. Obviously the other stuff matters, but that, that's that primary thing, right?

There's this thing that I think, you know, goes [00:08:00] around of, teachers wanting to be, you know, kind of strict in everything in that first couple weeks. And I've always felt kind of the opposite. Right. You know, build those relationships and then, you know, they'll behave and do things because that's.

Because that's the environment you've built. That's the family you have. Yeah. And a good portion of students will do better for teachers that they have a good relationship with. Try harder. Yep, absolutely. And care more. So I, I love that. I think the relationships foundation of everything.

Right. It sounds like you do a really good job at that. So , at scoe we have core values and one of our core values is hopeful and helpful. And so we ask every guest on our podcast this question. So what is your hope for the next generation and who is someone who has been helpful to you in your journey?

My hopes for the next generation. I think one of the things that I am, uh, that I value most is people having a passion and interest in things and, [00:09:00] and staying involved, and not sort of checking out. Right. And I think that is one of the dangers of a social media and online world is people can kind of veer into those and kind of pull away from those real meaningful.

Relationships. So I'm hoping that we, we get better at figuring out how to connect to each other in reality a little bit more. So that's one of my hopes. And who is someone who's been helpful to you in your journey? I know you shared the shop, right? Yeah. I mean, I think my colleagues right?

Besides, besides the teachers, it's my colleagues, you know, can keep me grounded, right? And keep me realizing, you know, all the good things that are going on, right, as a, as a teacher, right? Sometimes you have those moments where you have those days. And just having a group of supportive teachers that sort of realizes those things and is able to, you know, break you out of that negative mindset and go, but yeah, but look at all these good things that are happening.

And I hope that I do the same thing for others. So, [00:10:00] really, the UPrep team and, all the friends and colleagues I have here have really been a, a great support network. Well, thank you so much. We're so happy to be able to be here today and get to talk to you. And the impact that you're making on our students in Shasta County is invaluable.

And so we appreciate your time today, and we hope that you have a great rest of your year. Alright, great. Thank you so much all. Thanks Cory.

RebeccaLahey

[00:00:00] We are here with Rebecca Lahey. She is a second and third grade teacher at Reading School of the Arts. Thank you so much for having us in your classroom, Rebecca, and we're just excited to get to know more about you as Teacher of the year. Thank you. Yeah. So, to get started with talking about you, what has inspired you to become a teacher and how long have you been in education?

 I had a lot of family members that were involved in education and including my, both my parents were teachers, so I just grew up around people in the profession. And then when I was a senior in high school, I took a class called Cross Age teaching, where we, for a period. Every day got on a bus and went to a local elementary school.

And I think that's where I first thought, okay, yeah, I like this. I want to work with children. Yeah. And so that's where it started . Yeah. I have been teaching since [00:01:00] 1998, so. Awesome. 26 years. Yeah. That's amazing. Um, so what has being named Teacher of the Year meant to you both personally and professionally?

It was really an honor to be nominated by my, admin here at RSA and then to be selected by Shasta County Office of Education. Yeah, it feels really surreal. I feel really weird when people congratulate me about it. I don't know. It's kind of an odd thing, but

the acknowledgement. It really makes all of the effort and hard work that I have gone through over the years. Yeah. Worth it. Yeah. Kind of become a little local celebrity overnight, huh? Yeah. So every teacher has a unique approach. How would you describe your teaching style and what is your secret sauce in the classroom?

 I really feel like our class is a family. Mm-hmm. And it's a community for an [00:02:00] entire year, and that's kind of. The theme mm-hmm. That I have used over the last several years, and I try to create an environment where the kids feel safe. I always tell them that's my number one job is to keep you safe and then to create an atmosphere where you're happy and you feel good.

Yeah. And then from there, we can have fun and we can learn. Yeah. But if you're not feeling safe and. You're not feeling comfortable in the environment that you're in, you're not going to be a successful learner. Right. I try and create lessons that are engaging and get them really involved, but are playful and fun as well.

Yeah. there's a side of me that. None of my colleagues or family or anybody knows where I can be really silly with my students. Yeah. But, that's just for them. Yeah. So that's, I [00:03:00] think that really gets them involved Yeah. In whatever it is that we're learning about. Yeah. And looking around for the listeners who can't see her classroom, looking around your class, I see that like fun and sweet and playful approach just with the things all over your walls and stuff like that.

It's really cool. Thank you. Yeah. Reading School of the Arts has a unique focus, so what do you love most about teaching here and how does the school's creative environment influence your work with students? As a student myself, I loved dance and music and was very creative. This would've been a dream school for me as a child.

And so one of the great things about RSA is we do thematic teaching. Hmm. So if we're learning about Greece and Rome, we are reading about it, writing about it, incorporating it into our math. And art and music. And that helps students make [00:04:00] connections. Yeah. They carry it over more into their everyday life.

Yeah. When they have the opportunity to see it. In a thematic way. Yeah, I personally love teaching art. That's something I've always enjoyed. It's always fun to see, depending upon whatever our thematic study for the year is, what kind of art component can I add to our study? Yeah. It sounds like a really holistic approach to, you know, it's not just something like, oh, I learned about that one time in a geometry class.

You know, but it's like integrating it into all things. Exactly. Sounds really cool. And we have a really diverse community of creative students. Yeah. Just being able to see the different avenues where they can really shine. Yeah. Where they really connect and can show what they know through their art.

So what advice would you give new teachers or those considering [00:05:00] a career in education?

I think if you're going to go into education, you really have to think about being a lifelong learner yourself. Yeah. Because teaching is an art that you have to continually be reflecting on what went well, what could you have done better? How could we have. Changed or improved in that.

So just looking at it as you didn't just go to school and you're going to walk in and things are going to be perfect. Yeah. You're going to have to reflect Yeah. Continuously and work with your colleagues and keep working always to not just learn more about. [00:06:00] Whatever it is that you're teaching, but the behavior management component also.

Yeah. Yeah. At scoe, one of our core values is being hopeful and helpful. So what is your hope for the next generation and who has been someone that's been particularly helpful to you in your journey? In my class each year, we talk a lot about the power of yet. And perseverance. And so I hope that for those students that leave my classroom, they believe in themselves and continue to believe in themselves after they leave my class and know that.

If they believe in themselves and they persevere in whatever comes their way in their life or in their academic journey, that they can be successful if they put their time into it and believe in whatever it is that they're [00:07:00] wanting to accomplish. Yeah, I'd love that. And who is someone that's been helpful for you in your journey?

I've had so many supportive Yeah. Colleagues over the years. I had an amazing mentor. Yeah. At my very first school, mill Street School in Orland, Wendy Anderson. She was just an amazing mentor and helped me in so many ways Right. When I was first starting. Yeah. But here at RSA, we have. Just a great staff.

There have been many over the years that have been really great to collaborate with and learn from. Yeah. Yeah. So it's hard to over so many years to narrow it down. Yeah. Yeah. It sounds like a wonderful community that you've been able to be a part of and are in now and For sure. Yeah. Well thank you so much for interviewing with us and I just.

Love everything you have to say. I love being in your classroom [00:08:00] for those listeners at home. It smells amazing in here. And we're just really appreciative of you and congratulations again. Thank you. 

BillHutt

[00:00:00] We're here with Bill Hutt. He is a sixth, seventh, eighth grade social studies and math teacher at Millville elementary school.

Welcome Bill. Thank you. Thank for being on Inspire Shasta today. Alright. It's nice to be interviewed, I guess. So we, we'd love to hear a little bit about yourself and what inspired you to become a teacher and how long you've been in education. I have an older brother who's a teacher. And that was probably, I actually started when I first graduated high school and college , in education.

But then switched to business. Okay. Worked at various jobs, mostly in the grocery business, air Force. And then as my kids started getting older, it was, I was missing games and such. So decided to switch. Best decision ever, and that's been 24 years ago. Okay. So you've been a teacher for a long time.

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Good career change then. Yes. Since you've stuck with it and it's your, it sounds like it's your passion. Yeah. So, what does being named teacher of the year mean to you? Professional, personally and professionally. Um, kind of the, the personal side of it. Of [00:01:00] course, there's pride. I know that there are.

Ahora of teachers who really should or above me. I think I'm fortunate that my administration is so supportive, professionally. I'm at that point in my career. I love working here. I mean, if you look outside, you see horses. Yeah. For the listeners, there is a grass field with beautiful horses in the distance, which must be a beautiful view while you're teaching every day as well.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yep. It can sometimes be a bit of a challenge as I've had goats and chickens and Guinea hens and dogs all walk in my classroom sometimes. But yeah, so professionally, it's not gonna go on a resume. I don't think that, you know, so. It's, yeah, it's just an be celebrated. Yeah. To be celebrated by your staff and your teachers for your accomplishments in the classroom is a pretty big deal.

Mm-hmm. Yeah. We're, we're thankful to have educators in Shasta County that get the opportunity to be nominated for Teacher of Year so we can showcase the amazing work that's being done in all the schools in [00:02:00] our county. So, mm-hmm. We're, we're thankful for it. Every teacher has a unique approach.

The classrooms look different and everyone you walk into has a different feel. How would you describe your teaching style and what is your quote unquote secret sauce in your classroom? Relationship building is a must. I think that students, the kids are smart and that could be of course, academically, but also intuitively.

Yeah. And so they, they read your heart. And I, so I've seen teachers come and go. I think that some of 'em get into it for, oh, you get summers off and you get, which is true, it's nice. But that the kids can connect that appreciation. Yeah. They can tell if you're genuine or not, right? Yep.

They're very good meters. Yep. Yep. And so I strive to run a classroom that is, I would say, firm and fair. And so I was sitting at the barbershop. It's been a couple years ago, and these two guys are in the chairs [00:03:00] and they started talking about local teachers. This is in Palo Cedro. And one of 'em said, oh, you ever heard of Mr.

Hutt out of Millville again? I'm sitting across from them and the both the barbers look up at me and they got a smile, kinda like, oh. And the one said, yeah, I heard him too. And he said, yeah, the kids say he's really firm and strict, but he's always fair. And I thought, I'll take that. Yeah. , because they like structure.

Yep. They have a sense of righteous indignation if they feel like they're being picked on and probably rightly so. So I strive to be consistent. Here's a line that's it. Doesn't matter if you're. Crossing the line a lot, or maybe you've never crossed that line before it, the exact same consequence are gonna happen.

Yeah. And knowing what to expect in a classroom is really important our kiddos, right? Mm-hmm. Because it's that structure, it creates that felt safety. Mm-hmm. So they know they can depend on you to, to be mm-hmm. Firm and fair. Mm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And then I, I guess it's kind of probably mostly dad jokes, type of jokes, but,, to let them know you're human, you're a person too.

Whether that's [00:04:00] admitting mistakes, I put a grade in wrong. Or just, again, I think it's connection building that, yeah, sometimes I'll spend some time on a bunny trail. And while it's not academic, , there's, it pays off in a different way. Yeah. And so it's that relationship building that's the foundation to everything, right?

Mm-hmm. That's fantastic. And I think that that has actually been consistent with every teacher that we've interviewed, the three teachers that were awarded Teacher of the year, this year's relationship is the foundation to everything that they do. Mm-hmm. It definitely shows that that is what matters most.

Mm-hmm. So you are at Millville Elementary, and when we talked about that when we first started, and Millville has a very close knit feel. You could feel it when you walked in. you guys, just feels like a special place, right? Really community driven. so how does that shape your teaching experience here?

Kind of a tripod, students, families, and staff, and that, each one of those is special. And so I, so I totally agree with you. It's, 

it obviously a rural district. Yeah. So a lot of country kids, like I said, whether it's the [00:05:00] chicken walking in the classroom just from our, our location, just a regular day. Mm-hmm. About 60% I believe it is now of our, students are inner district. Okay, so they're coming from other districts and I think a lot of that's in reflective and parents of expectations, that Millville built a reputation over the last 20 years especially.

And that's then you have to live up to it though, or attempt to. Yeah. And so that support from the parents is really appreciated. and then our staff is just incredible. Yeah. Yes. Function as your own community. How do you create, you had talked a little bit about relationship.

Is there anything that you could highlight on how you create those meaningful connections in your classroom throughout the year with your students? I had to expound on that. 

Like I say, it's just, it, it's, first of all, it comes from the heart, and so, and they read it, you know, then they, I've seen, we've had situations where teachers have been hired and within a few months they're gone and they're either like [00:06:00] going crazy, whoa, whoa, I just, they're outta control, all this kinda stuff, and you're like.

Same group I have, you know, we rotate. Yeah. and it's the kids, of course, they're kids first of all, like I say, so they're smart, but they're also gonna test boundaries. Right. and that's when that consistency part comes in. and then just relating to them. How do you, beyond the academic expectation relating to them as humans.

Right, right. Yeah. And you think about, you know, the friends that you have. Mm-hmm. , not that I consider myself, my students friend, but it's it's a two-way street. I know there's a, in the old McGuffy readers, there's a reading about friendship. and it basically says to have friends, you have to be friendly.

Yeah. And then it, it's a little harsh. 'cause you know, some kids. If, you know a certain kid doesn't have friends, it's because they're not friendly. Yeah. and so that is, I could say I build respect. Yeah. recognize, give them credit, set high expectations. And, and again, I, they don't wanna be talked down to, this doesn't mean you don't kid, , but you don't demean.

Right. You talked a little bit about how you have seen [00:07:00] some teachers struggle in the past, and so what advice would you give to new teachers or somebody that's wanting to go into education? Hmm. First of all, they'd have to reflect and analyze themselves. What is my motivation here?

 If you're new slash thinking about it, go do observations. Yeah. Even now it's, it's gotten, my understanding has been years, but, it's easier to sub. and there's a need for subs. Mm-hmm. So that if you can sub very much, 'cause that's the hardest, right. 'cause you don't have that relationship with those students.

Right. and you still like it then, then pursue the job. You can see how classrooms function. Mm-hmm. Even how different schools have different cultures. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So get, get yourself some experience under your belt. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Like I say, observation just. And watch others and they get into the classroom.

So much of education is big. Borrow steel. okay. Right. Yeah. So, you know, we, we see something and we take that. Yeah. And see. So I'm fortunate because like I said, a little bit of [00:08:00] change, in the last two years doing two math classes instead of a math and a language arts. But I've taught the same stuff for 20 some years now.

 so I'm not looking for new, I'm looking to improve. And so, so new, new is in a totality. Mm-hmm. on over. So it's, it's. Each morning I take my lessons or next day or the afternoon, whatever, and go through them tomorrow's lessons and go, okay, what is it? You know, last year I don't think that really worked.

 or this class needs some remediation here. Or, Hey, I think we can put these two lessons together because they're so doing these little tweaking and stuff. Yeah. So you have to reflect. Exactly. , so then going and seeing different ideas how classrooms are run, , that, that observation that they can, , beg, borrow steel.

Yeah. I'm gonna beg, borrow, and steal that. At SCOE a one of our core values is hopeful and helpful. And so this is a two part question. What is your hope for the next generation and who has been helpful to you and your journey? Hope for the next generation optimism, I would [00:09:00] say, that there's sometimes I get a sense of creeping apathy with kids.

It's harder to instill, but sometimes it's harder to draw out the curiosity. Mm-hmm. they, you know, we have, we have one-to-one Chromebooks, but, a lot of times they keep 'em closed because it, their immediate reaction is they can, they have, you know, all the knowledge of the world at their fingertips.

Yeah. so they'll just go right to that. And it creates, sometimes I think, a, a sense of, I don't know, it's just a change in curiosity. Maybe I'm just old fashioned, takes out that critical thinking component. Mm-hmm. A little bit. Mm-hmm. Exactly. Yeah. I don't need to memorize two times three, I just put it in two times three.

It's gonna give it to me. Yeah. And so, and then the optimism that, there's so much division divisiveness, in our society that to recognize that you can have a very firm belief system. But you can respect other people's that are different. Yeah. The ability to have a conversation that doesn't pitch you on one side or the other.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And that's something with the students when they, [00:10:00] well, we do current events, and so whatever they choose for a current event, you know, my scoring is gonna be based on whether I like their current event or not. Yeah. And we talk about it, that it's, you know, that I have a set of beliefs or values, but that.

Doesn't demean theirs or doesn't, invalidate theirs. Right? and so that I know personally, I had a teacher who graded off of her. this is a college professor that graded off of, you had to repeat what she said, basically what it was, and I didn't like that. Yeah. and so what the kids to recognize that I can be respectful with those around me while maintaining my own point of view.

And, actually the make sure you listen to their point of view. Yeah. It creates agency in your classroom, I would imagine. Mm-hmm. Probably some interesting conversations mm-hmm. With your kiddos. Mm-hmm. Yeah. and then who has that, the Oh, that it's, it's such an easy one As our, our leader, um, Mindy DeSantis, our principal superintendent.

 it can be kind of annoying, in the fact that I kind of picture her as. If you [00:11:00] were under, Teddy Roosevelt, you know, and he's charging up San Juan Hill and he's already 40 feet in front of you, right. You gotta catch up. And that's the way she doesn't, she doesn't leave from behind. Uh, it's always, I'm gonna take on three things.

Would you take on this one? And so how do you, she sets the bar. Yeah. So it's this constant, looking for improvement. and you know, and she's been recognized for that. She's, superintendent, principal for California for small districts, she allows a lot of autonomy. Especially when I first started teaching, I was taken aback because she was in my classroom all the time, daily.

 and, but she's in every classroom all the time daily, and she's there seeing how the classes run. but it's not an interview or a, uh, evaluation? An evaluation. Yeah. No. as sometimes it's, uh, she actually is interacting with the kids and distracting a little bit, but finger on the pulse. So high expectations, but autonomy to do that.

And I, I really appreciate that and this. Continually bringing us back also to the [00:12:00] what is our focus? Yeah. Kids. Well, there's something be said for a strong leader, that culture creates strong leaders, right? Mm-hmm. And so, well, and it's, I know, like I say, prior life I managed grocery stores and it'd be the same thing.

The manager of the store would set the tone for the store. And so it's the same with, you know, obviously just being a small district principal, superintendent, but. You know, and if you're at a school where it's just a principal, you know, sets the culture, sets the tone. Yeah. And so that's, like I say, just always, always looping me back, us back, to why we're here.

And it's the kids. Yeah. And so it is, I mean, that's, that's why we're all in education, right? Mm-hmm. Is for the kids, so. Mm-hmm. We appreciate taking the time to sit down with us today, and we wanna acknowledge your teacher of the year. Status and we're glad that you came on Inspire Shasta, and we can't wait to see what else you do in the years moving forward.

Alright. Well thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you.