Hamilton teacher wins Shreeve award

Susan Gibson Schlechten was born to be a teacher. Not only was it her dream to teach since attending first grade, but her grandmother, mother and two aunts were teachers as well.

And now, after 29 years in education, Schlechten, who teaches kindergarten and serves as vice principal at Washington Primary in Hamilton, was recognized for her efforts when she received this year’s Maryfrances Shreeve Award for Teaching Excellence.

Schlechten received the award — along with a $2,000 cash prize — at the 19th Annual UM Education Reception on Saturday, Feb. 23.

“First, I was overwhelmed because I don’t think of myself as being an outstanding teacher,” Schlechten said. “It’s just something that I’ve done because I liked it and really enjoyed it. I felt like I was good enough at it, but I didn’t feel like an award was fitting for me. It’s given me a chance to reflect on why I was a teacher, why I enjoy it and why it works for me.”

Schlechten graduated with a bachelor of science degree in elementary education from Montana State University in 1965. Upon graduation she accepted her first teaching job with Great Falls Public Schools and taught there from 1965 to 1967. Then in 1967, she moved to California and taught in the San Francisco Unified School District, while also working on her graduate studies at San Francisco State and UC Berkeley.

In 1970 she taught in the Palos Verdes Unified School District and continued her graduate studies at UCLA and Pepperdine University. In 1984, after meeting her husband, David, she returned to Montana and continued her graduate work at UM while substituting in the Hamilton School District.

She taught at the Bitterroot Preschool in Hamilton from 1985 to 1986. Since 1986 Schlechten has taught kindergarten, as well as served as vice principal at Washington Primary.
After teaching for 22 years at Washington Primary, Schlechten will retire in June.

“The thing that is so great about kindergarten in a small school like Hamilton is that I teach students in kindergarten, but then I see them grow and mature,” Schlechten said. “Now I even have children of my former students, and it’s been great to see them and teach their kids.”

The Maryfrances Shreeve Award is given annually by the UM School of Education for excellence in Montana teaching. The award is given in memory of Shreeve, a longtime Montana educator.