STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Nigel Whittington stood outside the picnic shelter at Hop Porter Park this week and introduced himself to the parents and students of Syringa Mountain School.

“People say, ‘What should we call you?’ Mr. Whittington is my father. My name is Nigel and I don’t think you’ll find another of those in the valley,” he said.

Whittington, director of Community School’s Middle School for 18 years, is the new director of Syringa Mountain School, a public charter school embarking on its fifth year in Hailey. Whittington will assume the duties of welcoming the students back to school come Tuesday, Sept. 5.

He is taking over for Christine Fonner, who left in June after one year at the helm.

Whittington brings a penchant for experiential education, doting on learning that takes place outside the classroom—particularly in the great outdoors.

“I’ve been in education for 35 years and I’ve discovered that there’s no one correct way to teach and that no two kids are the same. When you look at different styles of education, no one size fits all,” he said.

A native of England, Whittington studied at Oxford University before pursuing a Masters Degree in Educational Administration at the University of Idaho.

He brings a wealth of educational experiences to Syringa Mountain School, having taught in schools from the east coast to the west coast. Whittington’s taught in England and been head of school at the High Mountain Institute, which focuses on educating students through interaction with the natural world in Leadville, Colo., for a summer session.

He’s developed an International Baccalaureate School in Antigua and headed up the Prairie Crossings Environmental Charter School near Chicago, Ill.

Whittington was named director of Community School’s Middle School in 1990 where he had a hand in crafting a  school without walls that utilized the outdoors in its teaching curriculum. A popular Cutthroat teacher, he traced the journey of Lewis and Clark with students in tow. He’s taken student backcountry skiing in the Sawtooth Mountains, coached rugby and soccer and guided trips in the Swiss Alps.

And he’s observed various teaching methods as a Fulbright Scholar in Japan.

Nigel had been teaching at an inner city school in Oakland, Calif., for 18 months when he decided he no longer wanted to wake to the sound of gunfire in the morning.

“I’ve always considered Idaho my home,” said Whittington, who has maintained a home in the Wood River Valley for 26 years.

Monday night Whittington took his place behind the barbecue grill grilling hot dogs along with his student assistant Emmett Pala.

As hot dogs cooked, he told parents and students that one of the first orders of business was learning how to properly greet one another.

“The Japanese bow every time they meet someone. I asked what that was all about. They said it’s a way of presenting your head to be cut off if you’re found unworthy. I didn’t like that,” Whittington said.

“The English–and I’m English–present their hand and say ‘How do you do?’ And they did that to show that neither was carrying a weapon. I prefer to meet heart to heart,” he said, as he launched into a good old-fashioned hug.

Some of the teachers at Syringa were students at Community School when Whittington was there.

“Miles Teitge, Sara Berman (now a teacher at Sage School) were some of the students I used to teach,” he said.

“Remember how students had to run from Community School to Atkinsons’ Park if they wanted to play soccer?” he asked Teitge. “And it was Bob Doyle who introduced kids to the Green Party.”

Whittington likes the organic nature of Syringa’s program, which he says is “developmentally appropriate.”

“I love the Waldorf style of education. If people trust the process, they’ll find that kids will learn to walk when they’re ready. They’ll learn to talk when they’re ready. They’ll learn to read when they’re ready. If you wait until they’re ready, you don’t have kids struggling to read or do math. It’s more like: Okay, so you’re ready. Let’s do it!”

While an administrator since 1987, Whittington has never lost his love of teaching.

“If you can teach a kid who learns differently, you can teach anybody. It’s all about building relationships with the student,” he said. “In many schools students have a new teacher every year and teachers spend the first two months figuring out who the kid is and what his interests are.

“One thing I love about Syringa is that the teacher stays with the student for three years so the teacher really knows his or her students.”