Laser leader knows all about second chances

Kevin Calnan’s life has been full of twists and turns.

He has been a student, an ironworker, a teacher, a coach and a real estate agent. But the job he is most proud of is the one he has held for nearly a quarter century: teacher at Laser School.

Calnan retires in June after 24 years at the alternative high school and 28 years total in Kalispell Public Schools. For the last 12 years, Calnan has been the director of Laser School, and while many have lauded all he has given the school and its students, Calnan insists he has been given much more.

“It changed my life. It changed everything about my life,” he said of the school. “I think I’m a better person for being here.”

Teaching wasn’t Calnan’s original plan. He grew up in Anaconda in the ’40s and ’50s, when Anaconda was a smelter town and there was good money in ironwork.

He went to Carroll College after graduating from high school but also worked as a journeyman ironworker. Eventually he took a break from college to focus on ironwork.

But the men at the smelter always encouraged the young guys to go back to school, Calnan said, so in 1963, he graduated from Carroll.

He took a job teaching history and coaching football at Central High School in Billings, but his career there was short-lived. Calnan was drafted and served in the National Guard for almost a year before a shoulder injury got him discharged.

Calnan’s next job was teaching history and coaching football at Libby High School. He coached with the legendary Frank Little, who had won football championships at Flathead High, and helped lead Libby to a Class A state title in 1966. One of his students at Libby High was Marc Racicot, who went on to become governor of Montana.

After three years at Libby, Calnan took a break from teaching and went to graduate school. He earned a master’s degree in history, the subject that had long been his passion, at the University of Montana.

Then, in 1969, a teaching position opened at Flathead High School. As a child, Calnan had dreamed of living in the Flathead, so he jumped at the chance to work there.

He taught four sections of a class about the Pacific Northwest; it was basically an Indian education class before there were Indian education classes, Calnan explained. His students loved the class, which included field trips to see tepee rings, buffalo jumps and the National Bison Range.

Calnan also continued to coach football, this time as Flathead High’s defensive coordinator. He was part of the coaching staff in 1970 — the last time Flathead football won the state title.

But in 1973, Calnan decided to call it quits.

“My life was sort of spinning out of control,” he said. “I didn’t take the role of teacher as seriously as I should have.”

So he left teaching for real estate.

He stuck with that business for 13 years until recession struck the Flathead Valley in the 1980s. Interest rates hovered between 15 and 18 percent, and Calnan wasn’t making enough money to live on.

Then, in 1986, a position opened at Laser School.

At the time, the alternative school had only been around about a decade, but it was new to Calnan, who had quit teaching before Laser began. Before he could get hired, though, he had to get through an interview with Bill Vogt and Ken Siderius — the men who had hired him at Flathead nearly two decades earlier.

“They thought I’d be a good fit for Laser,” Calnan said. “They gave me a second chance at teaching to be part of a team that gives kids a second chance.”

Calnan wasn’t sure he shared their confidence. He was nervous about getting back into education, particularly in an alternative setting, at the age of 46.

“It was a huge leap for me,” he said. “I thought I’d give it a one-year try.”

By the end of the first year, he still wasn’t sure whether Laser was the right place for him. But before the next year was over, “I really bought into the program.”

Helping youths who had struggled in a traditional high school setting was rewarding. At the end of every school year, when Laser students accepted their diplomas, Calnan could see how valuable the alternative school was.

“It’s like winning championships all the time,” he said. “When you graduate 30 or 40 kids ... it’s like you won. There they are, just so proud of themselves.”

And like a championship, Calnan said, the victory belongs to the whole team — the students, their teachers, the district administration and school board, and the community.

Calnan praised the community for its support of Laser.

In the last few years, Flathead Valley Community College, Glacier Bank and the Hawkins Foundation have stepped up to offer college scholarships for Laser graduates, which has helped open up the possibility of pursuing education beyond high school for them.

Calnan taught at Laser for 12 years before taking over as director in 1998. He still teaches one government class, but most of his day is tied up in the director’s job, which sometimes takes him far beyond the classroom.

Students know that while Calnan will push them to do their best academically, he also will help them with whatever problems arise. And for kids in an alternative school, problems can crop up more often than not.

Calnan has helped students find money for gas, get diapers and other baby supplies, even find places to live. Students know whatever they need, they can go to Calnan.

“I don’t know if ‘dad’ is right; it’s more ...” Sara Strohschein, 17, paused, searching for the right word.

“He’s like the god of Laser,” 19-year-old Cara Clemens suggested.

“Easy-going,” “great guy” and “all-knowing wise one” were other words students in this year’s senior class used to describe Calnan. Someone compared him to the Wizard of Oz.

They crack jokes about him and laugh at the mantra he recites to them each Friday: “No babies, no jail, no STDs.” But they appreciate what Calnan and Laser School have given them.

“He gives us the opportunity to get a high school diploma in another way,” 18-year-old Valorie Avila said. “Regular high school didn’t work for us. He’s understanding and forgiving.”

Calnan is just as complimentary to his students. His respect — and maybe a little awe — for them is obvious in his voice.

“You’ve got to admire them. They are so determined to get a high school diploma,” he said. “They are not dropouts. They are survivors.”

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.