Eighteen months ago, in November 2023, the Idaho Lottery visited Stanley School, at the base of the Sawtooth Mountain Range in central Idaho. The school of 24 students and three classrooms had just received a Bucks for Books award for $3,000.
During that presentation, the school staff showed Lottery representatives the “library.” The library was not a traditional space, rather it was located in the former boys shower, complete with faucets and fixtures. It was one of the more creative uses of space at an elementary school in Idaho.
It was clear the small locker and shower area had outgrown its usefulness with no room to put the new books being purchased from the Bucks for Books award. At the conclusion of the Lottery’s visit, Lottery employees mentioned that if the school ever built a real library that could house all their books, to contact them for a Classroom Wishlist to help build the school new bookcases.
The Stanley School then had discussions with their leaders at the Challis School District. There were funds available from the District to expand and modernize the school with two new classrooms, but the school needed to provide some matching funds. While discussions were taking place, the school’s staff asked how much more to add a library to the expansion. The answer, about $100,000.
So the school set out to raise funds from members of the Stanley and nearby communities. The first donors were from the Janice Seagrave’s Family Foundation. The Seagraves were from the Hailey area and split a $48 million Powerball jackpot with another family on Christmas in 1996. The fundraising efforts were a success for the small community school.
Fast forward to spring 2025. The addition to the school is complete with two new classrooms and a brand new library space. The school’s upper-elementary teacher is Sammy Forsgren. Sammy is a second-generation resident of Stanley who attended the elementary school in her youth. She now lives in Stanly and teaches in the same building she once attended as a child.
Remembering the Lottery’s offer to provide furniture for the new library, Sammy submitted a Classroom Wishlist award request for bookcases, desks, and comfortable reading chairs for the new library. Sammy: Wish granted. Shelves, seating options and a desk were shipped to the school during the winter months. Now, they adorn a bright room with south facing windows that look straight at the Sawtooth Range.
During early April, the Idaho Lottery visited the school again to see the transformation and make a formal “ribbon” cutting for the new library, which quite likely, is the most scenic school library in America.
