News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
It's just not going to be the same next year at the end of the west wing at Sisters Elementary School.
Third grade teachers Craig Benton and Kelly Powell will be gone next year - Benton to retirement and Powell to a new post as principal at an elementary school in Scappoose, Oregon.
Powell has been teaching in Sisters for 19 years; Benton has been on the books for 30 years.
"Hey," Benton exclaimed as an interview with The Nugget got rolling. "We finally beat Tillie Wilson! Collectively we can beat her!"
Benton was referring to the legendary teacher and author of the Sisters history "That Was Yesterday." Wilson taught in Sisters from 1914 to 1956. It might have taken both of them to overtake Wilson's 42 years in harness, but Powell and Benton have each had a pretty good run.
Though the teachers have obviously seen some changes over the decades, both are struck with the degree to which Sisters Elementary School still feels like the small-town school where they started.
"The overall feel of the school has remained one of 'We are family,'" Powell said. "The collaboration of the teachers is as strong as it's ever been."
So why leave?
Powell has worked for some time on an administrative credential and has been looking for an opportunity to become a principal.
"I applied to a small district," he said. "I really like the small-town atmosphere where you get to know everybody. I'm anxious to use what I've learned."
For his part, Benton plans to pause at the beginning of September while operating his groundskeeping equipment at Black Butte Ranch and think about his colleagues at work starting a new school year - and he'll laugh and get back to work.
It just seemed like a good time to retire.
"Thirty years is a nice, round number, don't you think?" he said.
He said he's happy to be leaving while he still feels the enjoyment of the work, before coming to school gets to feel like a grind.
Benton took his post in Sisters after a whirlwind interview just a couple of days after the birth of his son.
The family moved from Montana and never looked back - though Benton spent a year teaching in England and a year on a teacher exchange in New Zealand.
Powell came to Sisters after spending his first five years as a teacher in Scio.
The two men have enjoyed each others' company - and antics - as much as any other aspect of teaching in Sisters.
"Together, we have one brain that's pretty darn good," Powell said.
Both men agreed that the toughest time in their careers came when fellow teacher Rob Kurtz died after an arduous battle with cancer.
"He epitomized what the town and the school are," said Powell. "He was Sisters. Literally, a part of it died with him."
Benton said that when staff and students feel like family, any hard time for any of them is felt deeply.
Both men said the thing they'll miss most is the start of each day, waiting in the hallway with a cup of coffee in hand while the students pour in, ready for a good day.
Benton noted that third- grade activities like metric car races and Volcano Day will continue after his departure - and he plans to show up for special events, particularly for National Snout Day, which is his very own creation.
"All those great third- grade traditions will continue on," he said.
Benton's wife Sally is putting together a remembrance book titled "What I Learned from Mr. B."
Parents and students are invited to contribute at [email protected]
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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