Integral to Many Students

It's not unusual to find people in Northeast Montana with lifelong careers. After all, we are a farming community. It is a little rare, however, to find someone who is still enthusiastic about their occupation when they decide to retire.

Kimberley Girard, sometimes affectionately referred to as "Kimmy G," but more professionally addressed as Mrs. Girard, is one who still has remarkable passion for her occupation. That was one factor in her decision to retire from teaching after 39 years. "I wanted to leave teaching while I still enjoy it," she explained. "You want people to be sorry to see you go, not push you out the door." A colleague once told her that she would know when it was time to retire. "It's sad. It's been my life," she said, "but I knew it was time."

GHS Principal Brett Huntsman is likely sorry to see Girard go. "She believes every kid can learn math and she has touched a lot of students' minds," he said of the longtime educator. "When I walk through her classes, I see her using different techniques, like using real-world examples, to help kids learn. I wish I had taken a math class from Mrs. Girard."

Girard's professional journey began when she graduated summa cum laude from State University of New York in 1980 with a B.S. in mathematics. She was interviewed and hired over the phone for a teaching position in Saco. Fresh out of college, the young and adventurous Girard traveled more than 1,700 miles to her new home in Montana, and she never left the 406.

While in Saco, where she taught seventh through 12th grades, she filled in as the assistant girls basketball coach. That is how she met her husband, Norm, who was refereeing games. They were married in May, 1981 and according to Girard, the ceremony was very low key. "It was just us, the minister, and a couple witnesses. It was a Tuesday night and we had both taught that day." The couple have two sons, Darren and Dan, who later added a granddaughter and three grandsons to the mix.

After teaching in Saco for two years, Girard spent 10 years in Nashua, also teaching seventh through 12th grades. During her time in Nashua, Girard earned her Masters in Education, magna cum laude. Although she wasn't actively searching for a teaching position at the high school level, she applied for a position in Glasgow that became available in 1992 and was hired. She found that the dynamics of teaching high school math suited her and she began her long tenure at GHS.

Reflecting back on when she was younger, Girard said she knew she wanted to be a teacher when she was in fifth grade. "I liked school," she said with a shrug. Although neither of her parents were teachers, they did provide skating instruction and were involved in other educational circumstances, so she was comfortable in that setting. "I also had a great-aunt that was a teacher," explained Girard. "She was very encouraging."

At one point, Girard became unsure of her decision to go into teaching as the job market seemed to be saturated with capable educators. Her high school physics teacher reassured her and told her, "There's always room for a good teacher." "I spent my life trying to be that teacher," she said. "I wanted to communicate to students the passion that I have for mathematics."

Girard is arguably one of the most educated and honored teachers in the Glasgow school system, as is demonstrated by her resume.

She has amassed a number of awards and accolades over her 39-year teaching career. In 1988, she was awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching, which is a national award that recognizes one math teacher and one science teacher from each state in the nation. The honor came with a $10,000 cash prize, which was granted to Nashua Schools on Girard's behalf. "The fun part," said Girard with a smile, "was that I got to decide how the money was used in the school. I tried to spread the wealth."

In 1993, she was awarded the Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award, which came with a $25,000 cash prize. According to the Milken Educator Awards website, "Milken Educator Awards targets early-to-mid career education professionals for their already impressive achievements and, more significantly, for the promise of what they will accomplish in the future."

Girard was named Montana Teacher of the Year in 1997, and was awarded the Dean Preble Memorial Award in 2016. The Dean Preble Award, sponsored by the Montana Council of Teachers of Mathematics (MCTM), was given in recognition of her outstanding contribution to Montana mathematics education.

Above and beyond even the most notable awards, Girard can boast a lifetime of other accomplishments. She has been a contributing author to a number of publications and was involved in developing a math curriculum that was written for Montana kids by Montana teachers. In 2011, she was able to travel to Brazil with the "People to People" program as part of a mathematics education delegation, which she said made her appreciate the education system we have in the States. She collaborated with a Nobel Prize winner at an educational workshop and has led numerous math workshops for teachers across the country. Additionally, Girard was instrumental in bringing a math contest to GHS as there wasn't a location in Northeast Montana, and she continues her involvement to this day. She is also actively involved in Academic Olympics for the Glasgow School District.

Even with all of the recognition she has received, Girard says what she is most proud of is what her students have gone on to do. She notes that several students she taught are now educators in the Glasgow School system, including her fellow math teacher, Kristin Waarvik, and Rachel Pewitt, who was recently hired to teach high school math for 2019-2020.

Waarvik, who graduated from GHS in 2004, said Girard has been a great influence in her life. "She is a large part of the reason I enjoyed math and went on to become a math teacher," she explained. "I didn't even like math until I was in eighth grade, and I am not sure that my like of math would have turned into a love of math without Mrs. Girard."

Reflecting on her high school years, Waarvik noted that Girard's classes were her favorite. "I loved how she let us get up and go to the boards to practice math with our groups. She never had us sit in our desks the entire class, and that always made her classes go by the fastest. To me, she always seemed to give us the perfect amount of exploration, notes and practice on any topic. She also always made homework so manageable, it was never a huge daunting task, but usually was designed to take 20 to 30 minutes to complete."

At one point, as a way to earn extra credit in class, Waarvik would offer help to Algebra I students. "I would do this as often as I could," she said. "I remember after helping someone, she (Girard) complimented me on how I explained solving an equation to my classmate, and it made me feel so proud of myself. I always wanted to please her and something about her made me want to do my absolute best on everything related to her class. Her influence has reached far past my high school experience and into my own teaching practice. Because of Kim I am a better teacher and I have been so lucky to have her as my teacher and colleague at GHS."

A 2013 graduate of GHS, Pewitt credits Girard for influencing her decision to become a math teacher. "I always knew I wanted to be a teacher, but it wasn't until Mrs. Girard's class that I knew math had to be a part of it," she explained. "However, at the end of my senior year I wasn't sure that I would be successful in the math field. Mrs. Girard reassured me and told me that I would not have gotten this far in my math career if it wasn't something I was capable of."

Pewitt also recollects Girard's teaching style as incredibly effective. "She works with you so that you are discovering the day's lesson rather than listening to a lecture. You work in groups, take partner quizzes, and explore hands-on learning by creating different projects using the mathematics you are learning about. She touches on every learning style and is more than eager to help you succeed."

No matter who you talk to, it is apparent that even after 39 years as an educator, Girard continues to be passionate and enthusiastic about mathematics and teaching in general. "You can truly tell that she has a passion for both teaching and mathematics, it's infectious," said Pewitt. "She cares a great deal for her students and is someone I looked up to while pursuing my teaching degree, and still look to for advice as I begin my career."

As she looks to the beginning of the next school year, Pewitt finds the prospect of teaching classes in Girard's "old" classroom both exciting and daunting. "Knowing how respected, brilliant, and passionate she is, makes for big shoes to fill," she explained. "When you look back on your days in high school everyone can remember a teacher that made a difference in their lives, for me and countless others, Mrs. Girard is that teacher."

Huntsman also mentioned Girard's passion for teaching. "She gets up every day with a passion to do her work, and not just at school," he said, sharing a time he observed her at the Valley Event Center during a holiday skating event. "She saw a kid out on the ice and before you knew it, she was over there teaching him how to skate. That's her personality. She just believes that everybody has the ability to learn and she enjoys doing it."

When asked what she intends to do after her retirement from teaching, Girard was reluctant to commit to anything specific other than sewing, walking and reading. She does hope to continue with, and expand, Hi-Line Skating, which she co-founded. She will also likely continue to assist her husband with seasonal snow removal and trash collection in the community as well as volunteering at track meets at the jumping pits. Girard also confirmed that she will be able to return to the school to fill in as a substitute on occasion.

"Really, I'm just going to practice being retired," she explained, "and find out what being retired means."