Cooper says farewell

Some residents of this county might know Shelly Cooper as the Carbon County School District No. 2 Teacher of the Year. She won that honor last spring. Others might know she was a strong advocate for Medicine Bow Elementary and its community on why the school should stay open last year, although its enrollment was not high.

This year, she was the teacher that had her 10 students in grades 2-6 achieve the goal of reading 500 books this year. The school year isn't over and the kids arn't done on increasing this accomplishment.

Cooper gives credit to the kids.

This is her style.

Her 16 years of certified teaching for the county, and 10 years as an aide prior, she shrugs off as being blessed by having excellent mentors and students. She prefers to talk about how outstanding principals and teachers inspired her. Cooper prefers to keep the subject away from her.

The first person she acknowledges is Jeanette Fischer, a teacher she had while Cooper was a student at her high school in Medicine Bow.

"Mrs. Fischer had a class in home economics where you could go and try out different jobs and I went to the elementary school and thought this is exactly what I want to do," Cooper remembers. "But then I went to college in Salt Lake and decided I liked business, which is funny because I would have given away the house."

Cooper said she fell back into wanting to teach kids when she started teaching at Wee Folks in Medicine Bow. She taught with them for a few years and, coupling that with being involved with girl scouts, Cooper realized she wanted to teach children. She became an aide at the Medicine Bow elementary school.

"The teachers here encouraged me so much. So did Dale Kari, who was the principal," Cooper said. "He told me, 'Go back to school, get this done."

She followed the advice of those who encouraged her and got her certification.

"Darrin Jennings Saratoga Elementary School is the first principal who took the chance on me when he was at Sinclair and I taught second and third grade," Cooper said. "Then an opening occurred in Medicine Bow and I came here to teach third and fourth."

She said teacher Irma Soske and Fischer were strong supporters and gave tremendous encouragement, pushing her to keep going.

"Jeanette still does till this day," Cooper laughed.

She said the community also supported her.

"The community here is tight. I have a lot of ties here," Copper said. "I went to high school here, the kids I have taught over the years have been amazing and the depth of generations that have come through Medicine Bow is really strong."

This was a component for her standing up to voice her concern about possibly shutting down the school last year.

"I don't know if I really stood out other than I just talk a lot," Cooper said. "But I did see what the wind turbines were going to bring in during the next few years and I knew people coming here would want educational opportunities for their children."

She said between family connections and the wind projects, 16 new students came to the school this year.

"Maybe some were here and then left, but our school had 20 students attend here this year at some point," Cooper said. "That is huge for us. I am glad it worked out for this year."

On winning Teacher of the Year, she said it was a humbling experience.

"You know they say it takes a village to raise a family, I think it takes a village to raise a teacher," Cooper said. "This community backed me and encouraged me and brought me to where I am today. I didn't make it to where I am at all by myself. I had community members that were willing to come out and do events or be a speaker at a class or come to the first day of school and try and make it exciting. It has been a wonderful journey and I am grateful to have had this opportunity."

The highlight of her career has been the students.

"What has kept me teaching is the relationship you get to have with your student or students," Cooper said. "The joy every day I get to have because they learn something new every day. The light bulb comes on. To see them grasp a new concept and say 'Wow, I get it', has been what has kept me teaching."

She said it is a two-way relationship with students.

"I gave to them, but they gave to me," Cooper said. "We learn from each other, so it really goes both ways. Some of the times it was tough and there was struggle, but the kids came around and we made a community in our school."

She said the students become so close they are like brothers and sisters.

"The tiffs that might happen is because they care so much for each other," Cooper said. "Then the staff here is so great. You can't have all these connections that the students create without having a staff that wants the best for these little guys coming through the door."

She said building the relationships with the students was a highlight, but so was building relationships with the families.

"I have built relationships with parents and grandparents that have been a real joy to me," Cooper said. "It is this community that has the generational ties that has been such a pleasure to be around and work with."

BAll good things must come to an end and Cooper is moving away.

"One of my students said to me the other day, 'Why are you retiring, are you tired?'" Cooper said with laughter. "My husband has been retired for six years and we are ready to try something for a little different experience."

The Coopers have a house in Arizona that they have been fixing up over the years and decided, recently, it would be a good place to spend the winter.

"I am ready for me to have a new adventure, and I bet the kids here are ready for me to have one too," Cooper said jokingly.

When she decided to move to Arizona, Cooper did not plan on continuing teaching. But it is in her blood.

An elementary school near her home needed teachers and the call to teach was too strong to resist.

"I have to work with children," Cooper said. "I just wasn't ready to leave teaching, even though I wanted a new adventure. I will be teaching third grade and it will be interesting since there will be 24 or so kids."

Cooper knows it will be an adjustment.

"This community and county, with all their wonderful people are tough to leave, but I will be back to visit," Cooper said. "A place like this you can't walk away forever. At least I can't."