According to Paul and Alison Schmaltz, there’s no place in the world they would rather have been teaching than in Kalispell Public Schools.

It might be easier to write that off as teachers with rose-colored glasses were it not that the Schmaltzes had nearly 80 years of combined teaching experience.

On June 11, their teaching careers will come to an end as they leave a legacy of grateful students and peers behind them.

“We thought it was cool to go at the same time,” Alison said. “We’re leaving at the top of our game. It’s very bittersweet. I feel very confident that we did the right thing when we got into teaching.”

The Schmaltzes both grew up in Billings, a year apart from each other in the same high school.

They didn’t know each other — a fact Paul can’t begin to fathom.

“I was a star player on the basketball team,” he said. “I don’t know how she didn’t know me. Well, I mean, I was a star player on the bench.”

Joking aside, the two did find it strange they didn’t meet until years after they graduated, in Kalispell. They met at Russell Elementary in Kalispell when Paul moved to the Flathead.

Alison, 62, started her teaching career in Special Education in Superior in 1974. Paul, 61, started as a fifth-grade teacher in Livingston the same year. She came to Kalispell in 1975. He arrived in 1978.

For the majority of her career, Alison was a Special Ed teacher. She found joy in working with those children.

“I’ve always loved working with the underdog,” she said. “It’s a good feeling. I made the move to counseling after I got qualified in 1998. It’s not such a huge stretch to go from Special Education to counseling.”

Alison has worked at every elementary school in School District 5 and even worked at Flathead High School in the 1980s. She also volunteered with the Special Olympics as a designated hugger after races.

According to her, Kalispell was the perfect place for a Special Education teacher.

“When I came to Kalispell, it was the most progressive school district in the state when it came to Special Ed, by far,” Alison said. “I’d go to conferences where people would suggest new strategies and we were already doing them. I found great joy in Special Education growth. Watching kids blossom and helping them understand they have such potential was amazing.”

She’s now a counselor at Elrod Elementary, where the readerboard outside says: “Alison, you will be missed.”

Paul taught most grades in elementary school for the first half of his career before moving to physical education. A humble man, he laughs at what his colleagues said when he first made the switch.

“They were saying things like they were ‘health enhancement’ educators,” he said. “I thought about it and just said, ‘Nah, I’m a gym teacher.’”

Paul is immensely popular among his students at Peterson Elementary, and students who are now adults will come back and say how much he did for them.

One of his most memorable experiences involved a little girl and a case of mistaken identity.

“There was this student who would call me Jim,” Paul said. “She would keep calling me that, she thought Jim was my name. It was because her teacher would always say, ‘It’s time to go to gym.’”

When not confusing some of the more literal students, Paul runs the Peterson running program, where students can log the miles they run. Two brothers have combined for 153 miles this year.

Some of his favorite gym students have been those who not only are athletically talented but also have a way of inspiring those around them. Paul had plenty of gifted athletes who weren’t afraid to let people know it, but those humble athletes who helped out others in class made his short list for good memories.

The Schmaltzes have two children: a daughter, Spencyr, 26, and a son, 23-year old Grahm. The unusual names are a direct result of their long teaching tenures.

“It’s tough to name kids when you are a teacher,” Paul said. “You think of a name and then you think of a kid you taught who had that name and then you’re like, ‘No, no, that name won’t work.’”

“We reviewed many names before picking them,” Alison said. 

Both Spencyr and Grahm attended West Valley School, so they didn’t get placed in their parents’ classes. Still, the Schmaltzes are huge proponents of the Kalispell School District and public education in general.

“I took a professional leave in 1985 to Billings,” Paul said. “It was my hometown and I was able to see all my friends. Even so, I just knew that Kalispell had a far superior education system. I needed to go back.”

As for educational tactics and theories, Alison contends it has all happened before. 

“The pendulum of education has always been in place,” she said. “It will swing this way and come back.”

The two teachers were married in 1987 and look to spend more time together and with their children after retiring. Hiking and kayaking are on the agenda, along with visiting friends and family.

“They’ve already been informed we will visit them,” Alison said.

She will also continue her involvement with United Way and bullying prevention organizations in the valley. Paul, well, he just wants to enjoy his retirement.

“I’m just going to step away,” he said. “For a while at least. Neither of us are planning to sub anytime soon.”

As for the future of the district, Alison knows better than to worry.

“Our new teachers are as wonderful now as they were then,” she said. “They are so naturally gifted. Kalispell is blessed to have the type of teachers it does. They’ll be fine.”

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.