“”Kevin Baird recently retired after 25 years as a classroom teacher in the School District of La Crosse. His last 12 years were spent at Summit Environmental School.
“Summit was a great group to be a part of,” said Baird. “The people there, the kids and the staff, were a major part of why I continued to do the work I did. Connecting with that group, learning from them, appreciating their talents, we were able to build on all of our strengths together. It was a wonderful family.”
Baird has a long history of sharing his talents with the Summit students, staff, and school community. He was responsible for painting unique environmentally related murals throughout school, in the LMC, on the ceilings, and in the hallways. After he retired, Baird decided he wanted to continue to give back to the school. The new gift would be 20 feet tall by 80 feet wide, highlight the geography of the area, and welcome all to Summit Environmental School.
“When we were approved to have a mural done on the wall as you enter our building, the choice of the artist was an easy one. It had to be Kevin,” said Summit principal Dirk Hunter. “I have never met anyone like Kevin before in my life. All of this he did voluntarily. He is an individual you can’t outgive.“
So Baird made a sketch.
“I spent a week drawing, trying to get a sense of where the size of what I drew was appropriate for what was going to be on the wall,” said Baird. “The kids and families were certainly curious. First with the pencil work, just what it was that was showing up the wall. First it was squares and then it was just these diagonal lines here and there. But then, they started to piece together some of the different elements.”
The teachers brought their students out for daily progress updates from Baird before they went to lunch.
“It’s pretty great, yeah,” said first-grader Liam Connor. “ I can’t believe he did that whole thing. The eagles are my favorite part.”
“It’s really cool, and it’s really pretty,” said first-grader Josie Bacon. “It has a bunch of detail and it’s creative. It would be really fun if a painting that big was on my house.”
The student visits gave Baird a chance to share with the kids what he had worked on for the day. For the retired educator, it was another opportunity to connect with students. A chance to offer teachable moments by answering questions and curiosities about the large-scale art project.
“We’d talk about planning, and adjusting, being patient, and persevering,” said Baird. “I was able to share with the kids, not just the process of what makes the work transform from paper to the wall, but the importance of being patient and trusting your instincts. I want them to use what they’ve learned in the past to apply to the future because they learn something from everything they’ve done.”
The project took Baird about 75 hours to complete during the month and a half he scheduled to work on the mural at the school. That extra time spent with his school family will not be soon forgotten.
“Kevin has a servant’s heart,” said Hunter. “As a teacher, he always went above and beyond with every task, setting a standard for the rest of us. Our school is a better place because he taught and worked here. I am a better individual for knowing and working with him. Kevin is a remarkable person.”””””[vc_gallery type=”flexslider_slide” interval=”0″ images=”13401,13399,13402,13400,13398″ img_size=”625×417″]””