By connecting with students and investing in each one, Shannon Blackmore gives hope to teens at the Shoshone Learning Center.

“Sometimes the lost or hurting just need a little hope, thoughtful direction and tough love,” said Ginger Sleep, SLC principal. “Mrs. Blackmore has given them her very best talents and gifts … day after day, year after year. She is an incredible teacher and advocate.”

Blackmore was selected as the Teacher of the Year for Park County School District No. 1 this spring.

She started teaching in Powell in 2001, originally as the ag teacher and FFA advisor at Powell High School.

Blackmore was later transferred to the Shoshone Learning Center and became the lead teacher there. It was a transfer she didn’t request.

“It was a huge blessing, being transferred to the SLC,” Blackmore said. “I’ve been here for 10 years. I feel like I’m filling a niche for the district, and I love it.”

Blackmore often shares her own life story with students, telling them about random changes in her life and struggles she has faced.

“All of those twists and turns in life, we should be looking at, ‘Where is the blessing in this?’” she said.

SLC students need an alternative approach to learning for various reasons. Some students face major hurdles, such as attendance problems, addiction, depression, rebellion, failing grades, abandonment and other issues, Sleep said.

Blackmore sees each student’s potential.

“I have seen hope come alive when Mrs. Blackmore takes individual students under her wing and unveils a path that is both challenging and achievable,” Sleep wrote in a letter to the Teacher of the Year Committee.

Blackmore helps students figure out how their brains work, and what each student needs to successfully learn.

“I’m just trying to help kids figure out all the details about their brain so they can approach their learning in the way that they need to,” she said.

For some students, that may mean spending three or four hours a day on English. Other students need additional time and help in math or science.

“We are not changing the curriculum,” Blackmore said. “Some students are just changing the way they pull apart the curriculum.”

She takes time getting to know each student and helping them overcome barriers that have caused them to struggle academically.

“I look at each one of my students as a little puzzle from God, and we just have to sit down and spend time getting to know each other and figure out how to work the puzzle,” she said.

Blackmore went back to school and received her master’s degree in differentiated instruction for at-risk learners.

While she looks at what holes students may have in their academic learning, Blackmore also considers holes in their social skills and personal habits.

“I think the personal development piece of what we do with students is equal to the academic,” she said.

Staff and students take a family approach to learning, calling one another their “SLC family.” Blackmore often refers to students in her classroom as her kids.

“I’m proud to call them my kids,” she said. “I feel responsible for them.”

By being honest with students and respecting them, she’s able to build a relationship of trust.

She loves to hear students say, “Mrs. Blackmore’s just real.”

Blackmore recently celebrated students’ success at the Shoshone Learning Center graduation on May 22. She told students how proud she was of each of them.

“The ultimate goal is graduation,” she said.

By crafting a plan to help students grow and lead them toward a high school diploma, Blackmore aids students in holding fast to their dreams and goals, Sleep wrote.

“I actually believe that somewhere in my job description it says in all caps: Whatever it takes,” Blackmore said during graduation.