RONAN — Jim Gillhouse remembers the first day of school at K. William Harvey Elementary School. He was teaching at the old Ronan Elementary School at the time.

“One day in October, we told the students to pack up their books, walked across the road and started teaching in the new building,” he said. “That was kinda fun. We just walked in and got going. We barely skipped a beat.”

An educator and administrator for 36 years in the district, Gillhouse has had the opportunity to see his students become parents. This week, however, will be his last as he retired as Principal of Ronan Middle School earlier this year.

“To see that second generation come through has been really exciting for me,” he said.

Gillhouse discovered that he enjoyed working with kids after his time in the army led to a stint of substitute teaching in Dixon, Charlo and St. Ignatius schools. In 1974, after earning his Bachelors of Arts degree in Elementary Education from the University of Montana, Gillhouse applied to the Ronan School District to teach fourth and fifth graders.

“It was really the only job I tried for,” he said.

He taught for 12 years, while coaching middle school and freshman basketball and football.

“It was really fun for me,” he said. “I was able to teach students in fourth and fifth grade, and then saw the same kids years later in basketball and football. I got to know them really well and see them in a whole different way.”

The relationships Gillhouse developed with his students and athletes were based on mutual respect. He was a part of their lives on multiple levels, and that, he said, was very rewarding.

“I thought that I got along really well with adolescent students,” he said. “You have to understand the unique needs that they have and be willing to work with them to get them through this very formative time period in their lives... We need to believe in them.”

That kind of understanding, patience and persistence isn’t for everybody, but years of teaching and coaching really helped Gillhouse to understand the various growth stages of adolescents.

“You have to understand that people make mistakes and it doesn’t mean that it’s the end of the world,” he said. “I talk to the teachers about it all the time; we can’t ever give up on our students and their behaviors because they will grow out of it. They will someday be productive citizens and we have to remember that.”

Gillhouse wanted to grow in the education profession, so while continuing to teach, he returned to the University of Montana for his Master’s in Administration. When an opportunity arose at Ronan Middle School, he applied and was hired.

“I wanted to stay in Ronan,” Gillhouse, originally from Illinois, said.

His wife, Cathy, is also a teacher and the school’s choir director.

“Basically, we just fell in love with the place,” he said.

Gillhouse spent a number of years as middle school principal before returning to K. William Harvey for 11 years as the elementary principal. Three more years at the middle school and he has finally decided to retire.

Retirement, for Gillhouse, means having a little more time to focus on his grandchildren who will be starting kindergarten in Missoula this fall. Traveling, hiking, bicycling and reading more will also be on the agenda, as well as the occasional history course at the U of M. Gillhouse hopes to be able to audit classes at the university as a non-traditional student.

One thing’s for sure, Gillhouse will never be too far from the schools or the students that he’s helped to inspire.

“We plan to stay in Ronan,” he said. “It was a great place to raise our children. It’s our home.”