Kristine Lee Newton is her official name, but she goes by Lee.  She grew up in a very small town in southeastern Oregon.  Adel, Oregon is roughly 100 people and her K-8 school was a two room schoolhouse that housed 18 students.  She graduated from the 8th grade with one other girl.  Since then she has always been drawn to small school environments.  To her smaller class sizes allows for more one on one attention and the ability to build meaningful relationships with students and staff.

She has taught middle and high school math for the past eight years.  She received a Bachelor degree in Mathematics and a Masters in Education from Southern Oregon University.  Shortly after finishing her schooling she moved to southwest Alaska and taught in a very remote village for two years.  No restaurants, grocery stores or road access made this experience very memorable.

Although Alaska is breathtaking, the mountains of Colorado were calling her name.  She spent six years teaching in Telluride, Vail, and Fort Collins.  There she taught in a very large public school, a very small charter school, and two expeditionary learning schools.  She learned so much from each experience and the variety has molded her teaching into what it is today.

She feels that Colorado is a beautiful place to live, ski and bike but found herself being drawn back to the west coast.  She visited Bellingham in the past and fell in love with the area.  She is extremely excited to be at St. Paul’s Academy for her second year and have the opportunity to keep collaborating with the talented educators.

Her hobbies outside of teaching include biking, skiing, fishing, archery, hiking, cooking, baking, puzzling, and many different crafts.

A favorite saying:  “I will not give up on you, even if you give up on yourself”. ~Lee Newton

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