She wandered up to Ned when she was just 19 years old. She grew up “down below” and graduated from Boulder High in 1984. But small- town life beckoned Lauren Timken into the foothills above Boulder.

By age 24, she was married and nurturing the first of four Pompey children. Her days were filled with homeschooling out on Hummer Drive and later in Olde Towne. Her barefoot children safely explored the outdoors and read voraciously before

Nederland Middle Senior High School (NMSHS).

Close your eyes and imagine Lauren’s life in Nederland when horses were allowed within city limits. Ski traffic, town festivals, and moose were non-existent. There were abundant parking spaces next to Hessie Trail. Nederland was ungentrified and quiet. For fun, Lauren enjoyed singing jazzy and African beats at community events with the NedTones (which included John Leventhal, Mary McHenry, Lex Ivy, Susan Ransbottom, and Irene Pritzack.)

By 2009, Timken joined the staff of NMSHS to teach middle level English Language Arts (ELA) and Social Studies. She created fun rituals for students. While reading Harry Potter, her class collected pinecones on the hillside to design into wide-eyed owls for their attendance at Hogwart. A “sorting” ceremony divided the class into four houses, or teams, based on their personal strengths of bravery, intelligence, kindness and ambition.

In Social Studies, Timken wove in social awareness lessons as the topics of immigration, LBGTQ issues, world religions, and civil rights were explored. Her students utilized Socratic Seminars to practice disagreeing while still being supportive of one another. Timken worked tirelessly to broaden the perspectives and empathy of small- town middle schoolers destined to live in a diverse world.

Lauren weathered the revolving door of five different NMSHS principals. She appreciated the comradery of the middle level team over the last few years. She has endeared herself to middle level students who she describes as “kind, thoughtful, and supportive of each other.” She believes the sense of community fostered at our small school is irreplaceable at the larger schools within BVSD.

Besides serving on the school’s Leadership Team which pursued programs such as Restorative Practices, Project-based and xperiential Learning, Timken regularly assisted with the annual Harvest Feast at NMSHS. Her students prepared conversation starter questions to nervously employ during their meal with community elders. These priceless cross-generational interactions, and the fact that the abundant meal would be, for some, their main Thanksgiving dinner, left this tradition embedded in Timken’s memory.

When a current sixth grader was asked how he survived this year’s Covid protocols and endless school changes, Jason Merz replied, “the best part was Ms. Timken’s class.” Over the last 13 years, many other students have echoed that sentiment. Timken has been the “safe person” and trusted adult for so many young adults.

Besides the content of her classes, she has nurtured, encouraged, inspired, and cajoled preteens into finding and becoming their best selves. Students who may struggle in other spaces seem to always find a loving presence and personal affirmations offered while nestled in Lauren’s classroom. She embraces teaching to the “whole child” by weaving social-emotional skills into all content areas.

Ever since Chad Petersen and Lauren honeymooned in Maine in 2013, they have dreamt of eventually settling there. Nancy Atwell, author of In the Middle, originally enticed Lauren eastward with an internship about reading and writing using an experiential learning style.

In July, Lauren and her husband will move to her new ELA teaching position in Bangor, Maine. Along with her extended family, they will settle into an older Victorian home within view of author Stephen King’s residence. In truth, soaring housing prices have sent Lauren’s grown children in search of a quaint area with affordable housing where their entire clan can be at “home.”

On the last day of school, eighth graders Laila, Maeve, Em, and Jolie sauntered into Timken’s classroom and began the tedious, but generous, task of cleaning for her departure. In between hugs, tears, gifts and laughter, the NMSHS staff and students bid Lauren farewell. Collectively, they were sending off one of “Ned’s best” to create her next adventure!