Sally Maskill

Bend, Oregon

Sally Maskill is a teacher and the mother of four children: three sons and a daughter.  She grew up in Alaska, graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in Economics, and earned her Teaching Certification from Seattle Pacific University.  While teaching first grade at St. Joseph’s School in Seattle, she intuitively knew the benefits of giving her students choices and ownership in their learning, and found the differences between how boys and girls learn and behave exciting.  When she and her husband had their first child, she quit her teaching job to be a stay at home mom. Thirteen years later the Maskills moved to Bend, Oregon in search for a simpler, healthier life for their family. During her time raising kids, Sally has volunteered extensively in her kids’ schools and worked in a variety of teaching roles: as a learning resource teacher in Seattle and as a classroom aide and a private tutor in Bend.

By the time their oldest entered high school, Sally had developed a concern for the state of boys in our world today.  She and her husband noticed that by the time many boys were in high school, they just seemed a bit “lost.” Many of the bright-eyed, enthusiastic boys that she had known in early elementary school eventually lost their spark and drive in high school.  Between her own kids’ experiences, observing trends in the schools, and noticing a slight disregard for boys in our culture, she heard the unspoken issue loud and clear: We are failing our boys. After doing as much research and reading as she could on this topic, Sally was thrilled to find the Gurian Institute and jumped with both feet into the trainer certification program!   She is honored to be a part of the Gurian Institute’s critical mission!