Scott Schiller
Southside Elementary School
Park County School District #1
Powell, Wyoming
[email protected]
Scott Schiller has been an educator for 33 years, including 12 years as a teacher and 21 as a principal. In his 11-year tenure at Southside Elementary School, Schiller has cultivated a vibrant school culture that values diversity and nurtures the whole child. For over 20 years, Southside has been perfecting its PLC model, resulting in a deeply ingrained culture of action-oriented inquiry. In his first two years at the school, Schiller’s focused, instructional leadership-style built on this foundation, and, paired with constant refinement of data-driven interventions, earned Southside national recognition as a Title I Distinguished School. A year later, the school was honored with the National Blue Ribbon Award, which it earned again in 2023, a testament to Schiller’s dedicated and nurturing leadership and support for Southside students, families, and staff as they persevered against the adversities of the COVID-19 pandemic. Central to this success has been the school’s adoption of the “8 Keys of Excellence,” a program that promotes integrity, flexibility, and the growth mindset, among other qualities, which are reinforced through a popular peer mentorship program. Schiller has also expanded counseling services at Southside and continued to develop the Life Skills program, which helps disabled and medically fragile students build independence through a variety of inclusive programs. Schiller holds a B.A. in Elementary Education and an M.A. in Educational Leadership from the University of Wyoming.