New 5th grade teacher brings experience

Michelle Wash might have just started her first year teaching at Ekalaka Public Schools, but the new fifth grade teacher brings valuable experience to the district.

Wash is in her thirty-seventh year in education. She has taught all grades and subjects during her career, and said she's had almost every school district job there is with the exception of superintendent and CEO. She's served as principal and has spent time at school district's of varying sizes, including a stint where she worked as a K-12 teacher at a small, rural school.

Wash has worked at school districts throughout Montana as well as in Alaska and Nevada, the latter of which she spent 20 years.

Growing up on a family ranch near Ashland, she is no stranger to small-town living.

"Ekalaka is a welcoming community," she told the Eagle Tuesday. "I love small towns and can't imagine living in a big town."

Last year, Wash worked as an interventionist at St. Labre Indian Catholic High School in Ashland. She said she made the move home for family.

"In a way living in Ekalaka, it's like coming home. Both of my grandparents on my dad's side were raised here," she said, "and a lot of people remember grandpa."

Wash has two grown children. Her son, Orrin, works at Hawley Mountain Guest Ranch in McLeod, MT and her daughter, Sara, works as a crisis counselor for teens and adolescents in Nevada.

Though she has taught every subject, Wash is most passionate about literacy and the English language. She says she is still teaching simply because she loves it and can't imagine what she would do if she retired.

In addition to teaching, Wash also recently started her own educational consulting business and plans to work with other school districts to help identify struggling readers and create plans of intervention. She is currently contracted with St. Labre.

Aside from teaching, Wash loves playing music, both guitar and piano, and enjoys spending time outdoors. She's also an admitted dog lover and has been traveling to several area rodeos since moving to Ekalaka earlier this summer.