Teacher to go where the buffalo roam

Karen Withrow is a triple-threat science teacher. In fact, more than triple.

At Sisters High School, she teaches physics and chemistry. Her master’s degree was in biology. And she admits to having “a strong background” in geology.

Part of that multifaceted base of knowledge will be enhanced in an unusual way this summer: She has been accepted for a volunteer position with the Yellowstone Association and will be living at Lamar Buffalo Ranch, a collection of log structures in the northern range of Yellowstone National Park.

To do this, Withrow must be on the job on May 15 and will miss the last 23 days of school. On the strong recommendation of her principal, Bob Macauley, the Sisters School Board recently agreed to the necessary leave of absence. Macauley said jokingly that whoever substitutes in her classes will receive lesson plans from the meticulous With-row complete to the minute.

In a letter to the board, Withrow explained her summer: “The Yellowstone Association is a nonprofit educational organization whose motto is to inspire, educate and preserve. They put their volunteers through two weeks of intensive training including safety, wilderness and risk management.

“After that, I will spend at least half of my summer out in the field supporting scientists conducting small group classes on various science topics (wildlife, botany, geology etc.). At other times, I will be working in camp, the Lamar Buffalo Ranch, with the public, answering questions and running a store.”

“I will return from this experience with much knowledge to bring back to the school district. The knowledge will range from safety to science topics and being a strong field naturalist. The science topics will be in the life and earth science areas of the state CIM (Certificate of Initial Mastery) standards. This will be useful in my classroom as well as working as a resource for the IEE class.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for me. It was a tremendous honor to be selected for this position.”

In an interview last week, Withrow said she actually spent part of last summer at Yellowstone and took one of the classes. “I love the country…and the wildlife,” she said.

Withrow is a native of Salem who received her bachelor’s degree from the former Oregon College of Education in Monmouth. Her master’s is from Clark University in Massachusetts. She has been in Sisters since 1992, when the district restarted its high school program after a 24-year hiatus.