Beloved Sequim teacher wins state award




Sandy Smith, showing her class an early-blooming Indian plum bough, says teaching still energizes her -- after 38 years in the Sequim School District. -- Photo by Diane Urbani de la Paz/Peninsula Daily News

By Diane Urbani de la Paz, Peninsula Daily News


SEQUIM — Warning: The story of Miss Smith, as she is called by her students, is rife with joy and punctuated by pain.

Sandy Smith, a teacher at the Sequim Alternative School, is high school Educator of the Year.

She received the honor — which comes with a certificate, no cash — at the Washington Association for Learning Alternatives conference on March 1.

The statewide award capped a 38-year career in the Sequim School District, where Smith started out as a sixth-grade English instructor.

She now teaches integrated science and career planning to teens who've opted out of the mainstream high school.

Last April, Smith was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

The usually fatal disorder destroys nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, and has had an impact on Smith's speech.

It's hard to say who's more inspirational when talking about "Miss Smith;" The people she calls "my kids," or the woman herself.

Standing ovation
Smith received a standing ovation at the Sequim School Board meeting last Monday night.

Then the petite figure in a violet paisley dress and matching high heels rose to say, "I've had the pleasure of teaching three generations of students."

School officials, however, have "rolled their eyes at some of my ideas."

She agreed to a telephone interview for this story, but wrote on a piece of scratch paper: "My speech is so bad that it might be easier by e-mail."

Early the next morning, she responded fast to e-mailed questions.

On what a life in the classroom has taught her: "Never prejudge a student's eventual future. Last night, I had dinner with a parent of a young man completing his A.A. degree this quarter.

"We both had worried about him finishing high school, and now he's planning on entering a state university.

"And several community and workplace leaders in Sequim were former students whom I would have predicted — based on their secondary school records — would be behind bars by now."





'Have fun'
Advice to new teachers: "Find what each student is good at, and capitalize on that. Love your subjects, and convey that enthusiasm to your students. And laugh and have fun."

On how she re-energizes: "I hike and garden. But most of all, I really like my job! I tell the kids to find a career they'll like as much as I've liked mine."

Tony Bush, a former student, wrote to the Washington Association of Learning Alternatives that "Miss Smith was the reason I graduated from high school.

"She sees the good and the potential in students, never giving up . . . and never allowing them to give up on themselves."

Another graduate wrote that "Miss Smith seemed to know all about life's mysteries . . . she loved teaching her students, and everybody around her knew that."

This teacher is also well-known for providing healthful snacks in class, refurbishing students' computers and helping them find employers who are willing to give them a chance and a job.

On her ALS and prognosis: "No doctor can tell . . . people progress at various rates.

"My speech and eating have been quite affected; I have the bulbar form that affects the muscles in the mouth first. But I'm still hiking."

'Weird projects'
What were some of those ideas that prompted eye-rolling among school administrators?

"Oh my. I am notorious for weird projects. Some turned out very well: For over eight years, we ran a recycling program where students with disabilities were the workers.

"It won state awards for years, because we recycled more paper, metal and cardboard per capita than any other school in the state, thanks to local businesses who had us collect paper, and Daishowa, who bought our paper.

"We even had a thrift store located in the old high school."

In her science class on a recent morning, Smith handed out to students the first native plant to bloom in or just before spring: the Indian plum.

As she held up the green boughs, she spoke in a soft, very strained voice.

But her students listened intently, answering her questions about native fruits, flowers and birds.

One thing is clear: Smith has no trouble engaging teenagers.

"She's always going to school, herself," said Sequim Alternative High School principal Patra Boots.

Smith thought she was attending the learning alternatives conference as a student, until her award was announced.

Smith will turn 60 in May, and said she made plans to retire in June 2008 long before her ALS diagnosis.

"I'm so glad I got to teach this last year," she wrote at the close of her e-mail, "although I may need to TYPE all my instructions by the end of the year."

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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.