For teaching duo, one door closes while another opens

Keith and Brenda Boone, who moved to Fallon in 1997 to accept teaching positions, both retired at the end of the school year after 27 years with Churchill County School District.

Originally from Montana, the Boones moved to Fallon in 1997 to accept teaching jobs.

“We met Mr. (Gary) Imelli and Mr. (Ron) Flores at a teacher’s career fair in Missoula,” Brenda Boone said. “We interviewed on the spot and liked the sound of Nevada. We came to Fallon and interviewed with Judy Pratt and that was it.”

In college, Keith Boone thought he would be employed in business or practicing law until he took a summer job as a camp counselor in Maine. He returned from that experience with a renewed purpose and a clear intention to work with middle school students.

Keith Boone has 32 years of service in education, including five in Montana. He taught at Churchill County Junior High School before it became the middle school, spent one year as the vice principal at Silver Springs Middle School and then worked at Lahontan Valley High School until it closed in 2009. His final move was becoming the principal at E.C. Best Elementary School where he has stayed for the last 15 years.

“I am extremely grateful for my employment with the school district and with this community. It’ll be hard giving it up,” he said. “This is the greatest place in the world to live. I’ve always looked at it from my perspective that we serve farmers and we serve the Navy families, and so we serve those that feed and protect our nation.”

Boone was honored May 24 during his last assembly as principal of ECB and presented with a pin by CCSD Superintendent Derild Parsons and a gift basket by Fallon Mayor Ken Tedford. He also received a yellow ECB “Difference Maker” T-shirt and certificate and the American and Nevada flags from the school.

When Brenda Beach retired from teaching nine years ago, she was the first recipient of what became the traditional teacher’s retirement gift from Keith Boone throughout his time as principal. Retirees from ECB had their pick of the American flag or the Nevada flag that had flown over the school during the year they retired. Beach attended the assembly to present Boone with his own flags inscribed with “E.C. Best loves you!” across the top in black marker.

As the assembly came to a close, Boone told his students, “Being your principal is a great job because of you guys every day.” He reminded them to take pride in themselves and follow “the four Bs” all of their lives, to be respectful, be responsible, be kind and be safe.

Brenda Boone also began teaching at the junior high in 1997 and then moved on to ECB, Lahontan Elementary School and then districtwide as a math and science instructional coach on special assignment. In 2017 she used her Master of Education in School Administration from the University of Nevada, Reno to enter the administration. She became the vice principal at Churchill County High School and then, finally, the CCSD inclusive services administrator in 2020.

“My favorite role that I had was being vice principal at the high school,” she said. “I really enjoyed making relationships with teenagers and helping them figure out their path to college or career.”

Other highlights, she said, included helping students find the fun in science during her time as an instructional coach and the eight years she worked on encouraging school spirit and good sportsmanship by reviving the CCHS Pep Club.

The Boones both said they recommend education as a career — either in teaching or administration — to those who want to help children learn and support their social and emotional health.

“When you see a kid that grows from ‘this level’ of reading to a higher level of reading it can be very neat to be a part of that,” Keith Boone said. “The relationships you build in education are outstanding, and it was great as a family because, my wife and I both being educators, we had the same calendar as our son. We were off when he was off.”

CCSD has a program where our instructional assistants and paraprofessionals can get help from the state to get their teaching degree,” Brenda Boone said. “They can have a job while they're taking those classes in order to move into being a teacher, so they're working and earning. We want to keep those people and help them grow.”

In retirement the couple will continue to live in the Fallon community they love.

“I think a lot of people equate retirement to almost end of life where, actually, it can be a new beginning,” Brenda Boone said.

They look forward to having more time to travel to see their son, daughter-in-law and grandson in Montana, as well as attend Seattle Seahawks and Nevada Wolf Pack football games. They also plan to continue volunteering with the University of Nevada, Reno Alumni Fallon Chapter.