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Kori Paradis
Kori is excited to join Syringa Mountain School. She was born and raised in the Wood River Valley and enjoys all it has to offer. After college, she returned home and has been involved in education through schools and coaching ever since. Kori loves spending time with her daughter and family, being outside, and traveling. She is looking forward to jumping in and seeing what this year brings!
Kori holds her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration but soon figured out she wanted to be a teacher through previous roles in schools and coaching. She worked to achieve her teaching credential for the State of Idaho. Before Syringa, Kori taught in Shoshone and worked in the Blaine County School District.
Crystal Deckard
Crystal was raised in the suburbs of Minneapolis, MN. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a B.S. in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies with a major in Environmental Education. Crystal knew she loved teaching and enjoyed doing it outdoors. She pursued her career as an Interpretive Naturalist for over 10 years.
In 2012, she moved to Hailey, Idaho to live and raise her family. Looking for career and school options (for her daughter), she investigated more into the Mountain School and came when Syringa was just evolving! She became a key part of the foundation of Syringa Mountain School in 2014. She served as the Sustainability Committee chair. She designed the nature playscape and garden space. With the help of the students, she built the Farm and Garden program from the ground up. She created the curriculum to align with Waldorf methods and practices while matching the common core science standards. She taught at SMS as the Science Teacher for three years before giving First Grade a try. Crystal quickly realized her desire for teaching was stronger than ever. Being a classroom teacher provided more opportunities to build relationships and support students’ needs.
She has obtained an Idaho State Educator Certificate and continues to actively study education, Waldorf pedagogy, principles, and child development. Crystal is genuinely passionate about making a difference in each child’s life. She brings to her classroom a blend of experiential, project, and place-based learning, inspired Waldorf pedagogy, and outdoor education while meeting the state standards.
When she is not teaching, Crystal loves to hike, camp, boat, fish, soak in hot springs, and garden. She has two daughters, two stepsons and a loving husband. When they are all together you would consider them the “Deck-Land Bunch!” She says, “It takes a village to raise your kids. Syringa is that village and I am happy to be part of the community-family!”
2022-23 Re-Entry Plan
Lottery Acceptance
Lottery Draw
2022-23 Syringa Lottery draw.
LOTTERY HAS BEEN DRAWN- Thank you to all who have put their child into Syringa Mountain School. Your child has been accepted and you will receive an email by 3/11 with the next steps.
Staff Survey
Lottery Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Christi Thompson
Cthompson@syringamountainschool.org
208-806-2880 x1
Enrollment Lottery – Syringa Kindergarten through 8th Grade
Hailey, ID— Syringa Mountain School opened enrollment Jan 25th, 2021, after announcing 20 students per grade, Kindergarten -4th grade, 5th/6th & 7th/8th combination class max capacity 30. All kindergarten through 8th-grade registrants will need to enroll on the digital form located on the Syringa Mountain School website. The lottery closes on March 5th. Full registration will commence after the lottery has been drawn on March 10th. Notifications will go out by email on March 17th if necessary. Any vacant seats after the lottery are drawn, will be filled on a first come first serve basis.
Syringa will offer all-day Kindergarten. Space at Syringa is limited, Idaho legislation dictates that an enrollment lottery be held annually. Full details are available at Syringamountianschool.org/lottery-information/. In general, priority is allotted in this order: returning students, siblings of returning students, Blaine County residents, outside Blaine County residents.
Syringa Mountain School addresses the state’s common core standards required by all traditional public schools and brings core values of resiliency, compassion, and sustainability in its approach to education.
Jennifer Rivers
Jennifer grew up in a rural town two hours north of New York City in the beautiful Hudson Valley region of New York State. A natural-born vocalist and performer at heart, Jennifer majored in Communication Arts with a minor in musical theater. She received her Bachelor’s degree from The State University of New York College at Plattsburgh and then went on to McGill University to study abroad in Montreal, Canada.
After graduating college, Jennifer pursued her singing career at full speed. She performed all over the country in various venues singing in nightclubs and piano bars. She also had quite a recording career singing high-energy dance music that landed her in the top 20 on the Billboard charts. Her music was played on Sirius Satellite Radio, in nightclubs, on airplanes, as background music in trendy stores, and in athletic clubs. After residing in Boston for many years, she moved to Manhattan. While pursuing her singing career she utilized her Communications degree and became a Senior Project manager for several advertising agencies during the Dot Com era.
It was while living in Manhattan, that Jennifer took a trip to Las Vegas and met her now-husband, Stephen. He worked for the Caesars Corporation. It was love at first sight. Jennifer returned to New York City and continued a long-distance relationship with Stephen. Then 9/11 happened and Jennifer got laid off from her job. Yes, she witnessed the horrific event up close and personal from her office window. She will never forget! Being out of a job she left Manhattan and moved to Vegas baby!
The next step was marriage to Steve! 2 years later they were blessed with their beautiful baby girl. Jen loved being a stay-at-home mom for 6 years until her precious girl entered school. It was at this time that Jen became a paraprofessional at her daughter’s school. For the next 10 years, she worked for the Clark County School District where she became very passionate and fell in love with being an educator and helping kids. Steve, Jen, and Hailey were living a great life in Las Vegas.
Then one day Covid hit. Steve lost his job and so did Jen. The entire hospitality industry and school district shut down. They believed things would open up in 3 months. Things did not. Jen’s sister who has lived in The Wood River Valley for 40 years told Steve and Jen of a few job openings. They decided it would be a great opportunity to move to The Wood River Valley where they had spent so many Thanksgivings and Summers. Steve applied and went through some rigorous interviews and physical tests and training to become a deputy for The Blaine County Sheriff’s Department. And Jen? Well, she jumped at the chance when she saw an opening to work at such an intimate school that focuses a lot on outdoor education. Jen has a ton of life experience to share with the kiddos at Syringa Mountain School. She believes her life has come full circle from rural town roots to city life and now has the opportunity to live in Hailey Idaho, another wonderful small town. She feels extremely grateful and proud to be part of such an amazing community.
Annual Fund Drive
The Gift of Education is Priceless! The Annual Fund Has Begun
The purpose of the Annual Fund Drive is to close the funding gap all charter schools experience, including Syringa. We hope to raise $50,000 during the drive with a goal of 100% family participation by the end of the year. No donation is too small! We realize that many families are experiencing hardship during the pandemic. Donating your time counts as participation and will help us reach our goals. If you’d like to volunteer, please contact your class parent so he/she can track your donation and set you up with a volunteering opportunity. To donate money, click here: https://