CRESTON – She calls it the “Creston way,” but when you ask Judi Hewitt to provide a succinct definition of what makes the little schoolhouse on the east side of the valley so special, she struggles to find the words.
“You can’t really verbalize it,” she said.
But listen to Hewitt talk about her school for a few minutes and you get an idea of what it means: a style of education that values both tradition and progress, and a setting that allows teachers to focus on every individual student so that each one succeeds.
That’s the Creston way.
For more than 25 years, Hewitt has shaped the small school on the east side of the Flathead Valley, first as a teacher and then as principal and superintendent. This spring, Hewitt, 64, is retiring as one of the longest serving school administrators in the county.
Hewitt first arrived in Creston in 1989 and within a few years became head teacher. In those days, small rural districts like Creston (the elementary school is the only one in the district) often did not have principals, but a teacher. Hewitt was teaching kindergarten and, because her students were gone halfway through the day, she had extra time to deal with administrative issues. In the early 1990s, the school board paid for Hewitt to go to school in Missoula during the summers so that she could earn the proper certification to become principal.
“As principal and superintendent, you take care of a lot of things,” she said. “Everything from plumbing problems to policy.”
But teachers at Creston said Hewitt has done more than keep the water running. Jamie Shanks, who has taught at the school since 1999, said Hewitt has always worked hard to get the teachers everything they needed to do their job. Tami Ward, who teaches fifth and sixth grades and will be taking over as principal and superintendent in the fall, echoed that sentiment.
“There’s going to be a void when she is gone,” she said.
Hewitt said her proudest accomplishment has been recruiting a quality staff that are dedicated and care about their students. They are also open to trying new things and thinking outside the preconceived notions of what education should be and because of that she does not worry about what will happen when she is gone.
One way Creston is different, Hewitt said, is that students do what is called “the daily five.” Every day kids take time to read to themselves, read to someone else, listen to someone read and write and learn about the technical aspects of grammar. And one teaching tool you won’t see in the classroom is a worksheet, Hewitt said.
“You don’t help kids read by giving them worksheets. They learn how to read by reading and writing,” she said, adding that the reading program allows teachers to walk around the classroom and work one-on-one with students.
Because there are only 70 students in the school, teachers are able to work one-on-one with students. The small class size often attracts students from outside the district.
But it also might be Hewitt herself. Teachers at the school said the parents and community members respect Hewitt and that much of what makes the school special comes from its principal. But Hewitt said the Creston charm isn’t leaving anytime soon.
“I’ve walked through the doors for 26 years – for half of my adult life – and it’ll be tough not to do that anymore,” she said. “But I’m confident that everything will be fine here because there are some great people here.”