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America’s National Rural Teacher of the Year Teaches Grand Canyon Rangers’ Kids

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By Bob Janiskee - September 17th, 2009

Schools in isolated national parks have a tough time attracting and retaining good teachers. This makes it all the more remarkable that the National Rural Teacher of the Year is an art teacher in the school district serving Grand Canyon National Park.

The National Rural Education Association is America’s oldest (founded 1907) and most prestigious national organization for rural schools. When the NREA speaks, the rural school industry listens. And what the NREA has said is this: You can scour the United States from coast to coast, but you will not find a better, more inspirational rural teacher than Amy McBroom.

At next month’s NREA convention in Cincinnati, Ms. McBroom will receive the 2009-2010 National Rural Teacher of the Year award and an honorarium of $2,000.

Since 2001, Ms. McBroom has been doing a superb job of teaching art to the children of rangers and other park employees and residents in the Grand Canyon Unified School District. This has certainly not been easy. Though the school district is situated in the shadow of one of America’s most popular tourist attractions, it is small (six buildings, 287 students) and very underfunded. Extracurricular activities are very limited. It is a long drive to the nearest town library. And as you may suspect, teacher pay is well below average.

Despite these disadvantages, Ms. McBroom has provided her students with a level of instructional quality and caring that would be hard to match in even the most prosperous of school districts. Her students are motivated, challenged, and given the personal attention they need to do their personal best.

Heartiest Traveler congratulations to Amy McBroom and her lucky students.

Postscript: As part of Ms. McBroom’s John Deere-sponsored award, the Grand Canyon Unified School District will receive $1,000 to buy instructional materials and school supplies. That thousand bucks will sure come in handy. According to the Arizona Department of Education, the Grand Canyon Unified School District ranks in the bottom 15 percent of state schools for dollars-per-classroom expenditures.

Traveler trivia, no extra charge: The Grand Canyon Unified School District is the only K-12 school in the National Park System.

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