When Kelli Higgins was in school, her teachers changed her life.
“They taught me the power that an educator can have to make life good for people, and I wanted to have that impact for other people,” Higgins said.
Fast forward 28 years, and Higgins has become a renowned Flathead High School educator. She teaches English and coordinates the International Baccalaureate program at Flathead High.
And last week, the Kalispell Education Foundation honored Higgins’ classroom contributions, naming her the foundation’s high school educator of the year. The award, sponsored by Stockman Bank, provides the educator who wins it with a $1,000 grant for their classroom and a $250 personal award.
“I’m deeply touched, overwhelmed,” Higgins said. “I work with amazing people in our school. Like, remarkable teachers in this building — a lot of them. And to be chosen among this group is, well, it’s unbelievable, because they’re so talented and so it’s a true honor.”
Dorothy Drury, executive director of the Kalispell Education Foundation and a former student of Higgins’, said the foundation saw more than 800 nominations for the award this year. Its student board managed the award process.
Higgins was presented with the award at a holiday assembly on students’ last full day of school before the break, in a surprise marked by attendance of her family, retired colleagues and alumni who counted the veteran educator as one of their inspirations.
Student board member Hudson Capser of Flathead High spoke at the assembly. The junior said when he came to Flathead High, he learned the “three don’ts”: don’t leave campus during lunch, don’t fall asleep in a football film room and don’t do a full courseload of International Baccalaureate (IB) classes.
“I’m glad I didn’t follow that last one,” Capser said.
He said the IB process has challenged him, something he thinks will help his success once he enters college, and in life. But more than that, he highlighted the support and encouragement he received from Higgins as a hallmark of his high school experience.
“She believed in me before I fully believed in myself and constantly pushed me to take on challenges that helped [me] grow,” Capser said. “Because of her guidance and dedication, my experience in IB was not just manageable; it was meaningful.”