Inspirational teachers set to retire
Linda Sappington
Science teacher Phil Engeldrum helps Ronan High School freshmen Evan Denny and Blaise Wikstrom test salinity values of different types of water.
Linda Sappington
Linda Jones discusses book themes with Ronan eighth-grade students.
Linda Sappington
Pardini explains acute and obtuse angles to her fourth-grade class at Pablo Elementary School.
Linda Sappington
Linda Sappington
Linda Sappington
Linda Sappington
Linda Sappington
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Three longtime educators who have made a significant impact on student graduation rates, career choices and life-long learning will retire this spring from Ronan School District.
Ronan trustees accepted the retirement of Carolyn Pardini, Phil Engeldrum and Linda Jones during their Feb. 13 meeting.
The longevity of all three teachers as they instruct second- generation students is a tribute to the Mission Valley, according to Pardini.
“That is a really powerful thing with families, being able to connect,” said Pardini, a fourth-grade teacher at Pablo Elementary who has instructed with the district 22 of her 26 teaching years.
She’s made a lasting impression, according to District Superintendent Mark Johnston.
“Students come back years afterward and talk about the positive impact she’s had on their lives,” Johnston said.
Pablo Principal Ryan Fisher said what’s great about Pardini is she authenticates her classroom lessons by going outside of the walls, frequently requesting field trips “to count bugs and look at critters,” Fisher said, adding that those are the experiences students remember. “She always has great ideas and the kids really love it.”
Pardini calls herself “a utility player” because she’s taught in a variety of positions and grade levels.
“It’s been a great career because of that,” Pardini said. To be a good educator, she said she always had to “learn new things, and be curious about what the kids are doing.”
Adding to her list of accomplishments — which she was reluctant to discuss —Pardini was recently presented the Advocacy Award for Excellence in Indian Education for All, for her “outstanding dedication to bringing tribal knowledge, perspectives, and experts from throughout the Flathead Nation into her school and community,” according to a Montana Office of Public Instruction press release.
After retirement Pardini will continue to mentor in place-based environments alongside the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the Missoula Writers Collaborative and the Montana Natural History Center.
Yet Pardini said she hasn’t influenced people to go into science like Phil Engeldrum has.
“Phil never asks for anything,” she said. “He’s quiet and soft spoken, yet he is the driving force for excellence in the high school.”
Superintendent Johnston said filling Engeldrum’s shoes will require a seasoned instructor who is willing to work as hard as Engeldrum does teaching earth science, AP chemistry and physics.
“Phil is the first to come in in the morning and the last to leave,” Johnston said.
For 32 years Engeldrum has held students to tough standards, according to RHS Principal Kevin Kenelty, “but he’s is also one of the most well liked among staff and students.”
His students often return from college and thank Engeldrum for making college chemistry and physics classes an easy transition, Kenelty said.
Hearing about students’ success with science-related careers is the only reward Engeldrum wants. He said he’s seen hundreds of kids become highly successful in STEP careers and is grateful he was able to be part of that development.
For years Kenelty has tried to nominate Engeldrum for Science Teacher of the Year, “But he’s humble enough that he won’t take the nomination. I feel he could have won it multiple times.”
At 65 years old, Engeldrum said he’s still in “reasonably good health” and will enjoy traveling, visiting grandchildren and being outdoors during retirement.
“I wish him well on his camping and fishing expeditions, which are well deserved,” Principal Kenelty said.
Although camping and fishing aren’t the first priorities of retiring teacher Linda Jones, she is looking forward to home schooling her grandchildren.
The Ronan Middle School eighth-grade English instructor is one of the most highly respected teachers in the state of Montana, according to Superintendent Johnston.
“Other schools bring her in to train them, because of her ability to reach kids,” Johnston said. “It just seems like her kids like her as a person first, and hate to disappoint her.”
There’s a reason, Jones said. Her students know she’s there for them, and she cares about what’s going on in their lives.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for these individuals,” she said. “There’s no negative energy in my classroom. Literally, it’s not allowed; it cannot happen.” She refuses to let them be apathetic about their education, and places responsibility squarely on the student, she said.
“You are responsible for everything that happens to you,” she tells her students.
“I’m not the person in charge of your education — you are.”
Middle School Principal Sandra Beal agrees that Jones, who has taught in Ronan for 29 years of her 32-year career, takes the success of her students seriously, even sacrificing her lunchtime to meet with students who need extra help.
“She’s passionate about striving to make students proficient and successful after high school,” Beal said. “She will certainly be missed — she’s a big asset to Ronan Middle School.”
