By the time I graduated from Bear Lake High School in 1990, I knew nearly every student who walked those halls. My graduating class had just 87 students. I knew my classmates, their siblings, their parents, and often their family history. Privacy was a rare commodity.

A Different Teaching Experience

Instead of teaching in a small community like the one I grew up in, I found my home at Rigby High School, now Idaho’s second-largest public high school with nearly 2,100 students. Despite its size, there’s no place I’d rather teach. At Rigby High, students have countless opportunities to discover who they are and where they belong.

Whether through performing arts, career technical education, athletics, or student organizations, they build friendships, develop confidence, and become part of something bigger than themselves. These experiences create communities where students feel challenged, encouraged, and accepted.

Creating Opportunities

Those opportunities don’t happen by accident. They exist because passionate teachers invest countless hours beyond the school day. When I asked my principal, Bryan Lords, what percentage of our staff regularly goes above and beyond their contracted hours, he didn’t hesitate. “Eighty-five percent,” he said.

Our students can participate in organizations like Future Farmers of America, Business Professionals of America, and an active Dungeons & Dragons club. Our music, theater, and visual arts programs are celebrated alongside athletics. No matter a student’s interests, there’s a place where they can contribute, grow, and succeed.

Original reporting: Idaho Education News — read the source article.