Every year the School Administrators of Montana accepts nominations from small schools all over the state and chooses just one classroom instructor to award with the annual Rural Teacher of the Year award.

This year’s recipient of that prestigious award is Toni Hatten of the Sunset School in Greenough, a small two-room schoolhouse with an average yearly enrollment of less than ten students.

“It’s more hands-on, more personalized, a more individualized experience, for sure,” Hatten said. “I think that’s why it works.”

Hatten has been teaching at Sunset for the last twelve years...