Summer offers a break from the day-to-day school routine, but the work of an educator doesn’t end when students leave the classroom for summer vacation. Educators devote countless hours of their time to summer school, educational trainings, cleaning and organizing, and planning for the upcoming school year. Teachers are pillars in the community, influencing and shaping young minds for a lifetime. Tricia Smith is an incredible middle school teacher at Stanley-Boyd who has made it her mission to shape, nurture, and empower the future leaders of tomorrow. In her classroom, destinies are forged with creativity and determination while Smith’s influence shines brightly as she makes a profound impact on her students and they in turn impact her. “My students have taught me the importance of taking time to laugh and have fun. That’s something sixth graders are really good at,” she says.
Briefly considering a different career path as an architect, Smith quickly decided to pursue a career in education. Smith attended Brigham Young University where she obtained her bachelor’s degree and from there, she continued her education to receive her master’s degree through the American College of Education. She became a teacher because she is passionate about acquiring knowledge and sharing that knowledge with others.
“I love learning new things, and I love helping others learn new things,” she admits and adds that she finds joy in working with middle schoolers. “I love working with sixth graders. They are at an impressionable age when their personalities are really developing.”
Smith has lived in Stanley for 3 ½ years where she actively participates in the Stanley Community Association and the Stanley Historical Society. Previously living in Utah, Smith began her hobby of rock climbing there and mentions that one of her favorite outdoor places to climb was at City of Rocks in Idaho. While she may not be scaling mountains now, Smith is taking her students to new heights, and she wants the parents of her students to know that she is “determined to help all my students be prepared for 7th grade.”
Smith chose to continue her career at the Stanley-Boyd Area School District because it supports all students in their learning journeys. “I loved the things Stanley-Boyd was doing to help all students learn and wanted to be a part of that,” she commented.
Smith mentions that her hardest challenge is finding time to implement her creativity. “My hardest challenge, that I am still overcoming, is that I have way too many ideas and not enough time to make them all happen.”
Smith shares that educators aim to positively impact their students’ lives.
“We aren’t here for the summers off, we’re here because we truly want to make a difference in the lives of children and help them to reach their full potential and lead happy, productive lives. That’s the payoff for all the hard work we put in,” she says. Smith remembers the influence her own second grade teacher, Mrs. Mason, had on her by helping her develop a love for reading.
She comments that it is rewarding to see her own students grow and develop throughout the school year. “I’m excited to see students doing math at the end of the year that they thought was impossible at the beginning of the year.”
In her spare time, Smith enjoys engaging in outdoor activities like camping, hiking, and kayaking, and she also enjoys playing board games with her family. A fun fact about Smith is that she used to have four pet peacocks, Marguerite, Percy, Armand, and Chauvelin named after four of the main characters in ‘The Scarlet Pimpernel.’
The Stanley-Boyd community honors the hard work, dedication, and unwavering commitment of teachers in the Stanley-Boyd School District. Educators like Tricia Smith are the architects in the journey of learning and transform the lives of their students with each lesson taught and every heart touched.