Ashoka
Woods Learning Center is a kindergarten through eighth grade academic program, dedicated to developing the lifelong learners and responsible citizens that the future demands. We were designed to be a small school community where everyone knows and works with each other, to help create a personalized and meaningful experience for our students and their parents. Our mission is to foster a growth mindset, so that our students are motivated and empowered to use school to pursue their own goals and dreams. Our school has no principal, so that the responsibility of running the school is shared by its teachers and several other staff, keeping our vision remarkably intact over the past twenty-five years of changing forces in education. As a school of choice, our parents have always accepted to be involved and volunteer in our school, promoting our work as a partnership between teachers, parents, and students. We are a school that strives to be apositive and involved force in the world around us and continue to develop our partnerships with community members around us.
Jim Gaither
Jim came to Woods Learning Center in 1997 as a substitute teacher, found his home, and never left. A native of Casper, his often dehumanizing experiences in junior high led him to embrace the personal and meaningful approach to middle level education that he saw at Woods.
He received a bachelor's degree in French, political science, and international studies from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, a master's degree in French from the University of Chicago, and after a few years working in Chicago, his teaching credentials from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. A firm believer in integrated subject learning, he has earned qualifications to teach math, science, social studies, language arts, and French at the middle level, and has been lead teacher in each subject area at different times over the years.
Jim is married to Michelle and has a son, Sam, at Woods. His passions include math, travel, cooking (and eating), karaoke, Star Trek, the Minnesota Vikings, and Mario Kart 8. He also enjoys long walks on the beach at sunset.
Jenny Marshall
Jenny was born and raised in Sheridan, Wyoming and has a great love for the Big Horn Mountains and the Wyoming landscape in general. She enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, camping and amateur golfing. Jenny enjoys reading and writing, especially in nature. Additionally, Jenny loves cooking, cuddling with her pup, and relaxing with her husband.
Jenny graduated with a BA degree in English and Secondary Education from the University of Wyoming. After joining Woods, Jenny also became qualified in Social Studies and within the next couple of years, she plan to earn qualifications in additional content areas and begin her MA.
Jenny greatly appreciate being a part of the illuminating learning community that Woods encapsulates; with the level of commitment by all staff to the students and their education being unsurpassed. Of course, her favorite part is being with the students and facilitating opportunities that are engaging, fun, and meaningful.