Margie Butcher, a teacher at Chautauqua Elementary since 2015, is the recipient of this year’s coveted “Doors of Opportunity” award for a Vashon Island School District staff member.

Butcher won a standing ovation from her peers as she received the award on Aug. 27, at a welcome back event for district staff held in Vashon High School’s theater.

In recent years, Butcher has created an innovative pen pal program, sparking community connections and inter-generational friendships by pairing Chautauqua third-grade students with island elders. She has also spearheaded Music Mornings at the school, during which arriving students are welcomed by accomplished island and student musicians, playing a wide variety of acoustic music.

Butcher also leads Chautauqua’s Green Team, with a focus on environmental awareness and empowering student leadership and voice.

Each year, the Doors of Opportunity award honors a district staff member who “exemplifies by deed, a true spirit and grit that goes beyond their job description, opening doors and maximizing a student’s potential.”

Recipients are nominated by their peers and the award winner is determined by input received from district staff, school families, and the community.

Butcher has won high praise from all these groups.

Dimity Muller, a parent of one of Butcher’s third-grade students, described her work on the third-grade pen pal program as both meticulous and deeply inspiring.

“I’ve now grown to realize it is a beloved Vashon program that residents and students alike cherish,” Muller said. “It takes large amounts of coordination and organization, with no small detail overlooked.”

Kristina Miller, Chautauqua’s social worker, said that one of Butcher’s strengths is her ability to look beyond the obvious.

“Margie sees systems and can look outside the structure of them to consider other ways of doing things,” Miller said. “She sees the sticking points in what is up for discussion and isn’t shy about offering up another point of view.”

According to Miller, Butcher personifies the “belief that students can do more, have a meaningful voice, and create a vision for their futures.”

Another of Butcher’s gifts, said Chautauqua’sPrincipal Julie Kangas, is in relationship building.

“She sees each of her students as …. individuals, taking the time to understand them, their families, and their specific needs,” said Kangas. “Margie builds strong relationships not only with her students’ families but also with various community partners, recognizing the unique gifts of Vashon Island and the importance of place-based learning.”

Superintendent Slade McSheehy put it more simply. “Margie Butcher exemplifies what it means to inspire and connect with our students and community,” he said.

The Doors of Opportunity was created and endowed by Benita and Charlie Staadecker in 1998. Charlie served many years on the district’s school board. Award recipients receive $1,000 for their personal use and $1,000 for their field of work or department.

In an interview, Butcher said she plans to donate some of the award money to a new grant fund she is now working to establish in honor of Gerie Wilson, who was one of three founders of Chautauqua’s acclaimed multi-age program for students in first through third grades. Wilson died on July 24, at age 73.

The Gerie Wilson Play Grant, said Butcher, is being created to honor Wilson’s legacy for bringing joy and play into the classroom, and bringing students into the garden and outdoors to play.

Butcher, praising her colleagues in the school district, said it was a deep honor to have received the Doors of Opportunity prize.

“There are so many amazing educators I nominate each year,” she said. “We are so lucky.”

What keeps her going as a teacher, year after year?

“When you have a breakthrough with a student,” she said. “It could be academic, but more often than not it is bigger than that. When a student starts to see their superpowers and believes in themself, that is just amazing to witness.”

And her favorite part of being a teacher?

“I get to spend 10 months in 25 kids’ lives,” she said. “What an honor that is. I adore this model in elementary school because you form deep connections.”

(Left to right) Superintendent Slade McSheehy, photographer Arturo Torres, Margie Butcher and Vashon Schools Foundation board member India Alarcon, at the ceremony celebrating Butcher’s win of the 2024 Doors of Opportunity award. (Courtesy photo)