Latest accomplishment: Earlier this year, Keim ended a seven-year
term on Montana's Board of Public Education, a challenging--and nonpaying--job
she held while teaching five classes a day at Skyview High School
in Billings. This NEA member dedicated her term to making the board
more "visible" and open, to everyone from classroom teachers to the
state Board of Regents.
"I answered phone calls, explained why we made the decisions we made,
and promoted an understanding of what the board actually does," she
points out.
During Keim's tenure, the board revised state standards and adopted
new performance-based accreditation standards for schools that provide
for improvement plans and local flexibility and creativity in meeting
those plans.
The goal throughout: Protect Montana's cherished tradition of local
control, while maintaining the state's high level of student achievement.
As the sole front-line educator on a panel dominated by former school
board members, Keim's greatest contribution was her insight on matters
like the need for school librarians or the tendency of some administrators
to understate class sizes. "Sometimes," she recalls, "I'd say, 'You
don't get it. I'm in the classroom and here to tell you what's going
on!'"
Words of wisdom: "Teachers need to stand up, be professional,
and to look and act the part. And they need to step outside the classroom
and participate in local committees, to present our side on what's
going on in the classroom. If we don't step up to the plate, somebody
else will.
"We need to let people know about the many positives in education,
and the fact that teaching is not a nine-month job, but a 12-month
profession."
