About Us
Be curious, not judgmental.
Walt Whitman
Our Mission
Empowering students to be curious, kind, and resilient as they navigate their path to purpose.
Bozeman Field School is built on a simple idea: students are individuals; education should be individualized to every student. We all have different interests and passions, different things that drive us. And every one of us learns differently. Every. One. Of. Us.
While the core curriculum at Field is the bedrock for all of our learners, it’s also the launching pad for each student’s journey—discovering what they enjoy, where they excel and where they hope their lives will lead.
Field students graduate empowered, inspired and full of self-confidence, with the tools to navigate their path to purpose…to adulthood and into the world.
Faculty & Leadership
Terry Hollingsworth
Head of School
Terry is an experienced educator and a business manager. His teaching background includes traditional classroom and outdoor education, including nordic and alpine skiing, sea kayaking, and leading extended wilderness trips. Terry served as the Summer Camp Coordinator at the Montana Outdoor Science School and the Field Director of a therapeutic wilderness program for at-risk teenagers. His business experience includes several years as the general manager of a grass-fed beef producer and the operations manager of a passive solar greenhouse business. He has been trained as a Wilderness First Responder and a Leave No Trace Master Educator. Terry holds a BA in Geography from Humboldt State University. He’s been living and playing in Bozeman since 2003. His favorite pastime is paddling downstream with his wife and three children. Pronouns: he/him/his terry.hollingsworth@bozemanfieldschool.org
Zoe Pritchard
Science Faculty
Zoe holds an M.S. in Entomology from Montana State University and a B.S. in Biology from Iowa State University. She has studied insects for several years, including honey bees in Iowa, ants in Switzerland, and most recently, documenting wild bee diversity in Montana for her master’s research. Previously, she worked as a camp counselor in Northern Minnesota, led outdoor trips and workshops at Iowa State University, and taught entomology labs at Montana State University. She enjoys running, playing piano, reading, and cooking for family and friends. Pronouns: she/her/hers zoe.pritchard@bozemanfieldschool.org
Kodee Cloninger
Spanish Faculty, Admissions
Kodee has a B.A. in Spanish, History-Political Science, and Business with a minor in International Studies from Jamestown College. Prior to working for Bozeman Field School, she worked with a variety of environmental and outdoor education programs domestically and as led volunteer trips abroad with teenagers. She has spent a large amount of her time traveling around the world and is consistently drawn back to the community, culture, and languages in Latin America. Kodee is enchanted by movement through travel, mountain running, biking, and yoga. Pronouns: she/her/hers kodee.cloninger@bozemanfieldschool.org
Clinton Watton
Math Faculty
Clinton (INTJ-A & Enneagram type 5), father of four, holds a B.S. in Mathematics & Physics and a M.S. in Mathematics. Originally from Philadelphia [born and raised], he relocated to Bozeman in 2014 for graduate school and subsequently taught math at Montana State University through 2021. Despite the heavy STEM background, he has a deep appreciation for music, art, and theater; he plays piano and guitar and sings. Motivated by curiosity and an insatiable need to understand how things work at a fundamental level, he is always researching a topic or working on a project; currently he is learning about permaculture design. His academic interests are differentiable manifolds and causal dynamical triangulation. In his spare time he likes to garden, meditate, read, program, cook, play board games, and spend time with his family, dogs, cats, and chickens. Pronouns: he/him/his.
Austin Shattuck
Humanities Faculty
Austin teaches humanities at Bozeman Field School. He grew up in Asheville, North Carolina and moved to Bozeman 5 years ago to start graduate school at Montana State University. He received his masters degree in Higher Education and received a college teaching certificate. His undergraduate work was focused on Outdoor Education and Environmental Science. Prior to working at the Field School, Austin worked at a therapeutic boarding school on the student life team. His favorite things to do are: snowboarding, mountain biking and playing soccer. Pronouns: he /him/his austin.shattuck@bozemanfieldschool.org
Michãel Palmer
Science Faculty
Michãel (Michele) Palmer has a M.S. in neuroscience and a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology and has experience teaching a wide swath of ages: from middle schoolers through college. She’s been a seamstress, amateur boxer, researcher, crisis counselor, printmaker, Zen student, and a chronic volunteer at local nonprofits. She’s visited India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, England, Scotland, and Mexico but is happiest at home with a book and a cup of tea. She’s lived in Bozeman since 1999 with her partner and their two teenagers. Pronouns: she, her, hers. michãel.palmer@bozemanfieldschool.org
Adjunct Faculty
- Rachel Ainuu
Plein Air Painting - Kyle Bajakian
Landscape & Lens, Landscape Photography - Bri Baker
Creative Engineering - Tad Bradley
Composition, Construction, Consequence: Design Thinking through Glass Art - Ali Brooks
Gear Making, Breaking, Fixing & Maintaining, Revolutionary Leaders - Dane Christensen
Anaconda/Pintler Backpacking Expedition, Upcycling - Amy Falcione
Brand Development and Design - Becca Frucht
Yellowstone National Park Expedition - Marla Goodman
Ukulele Kick Start - Paúl Gomex
The Science of Laughter - Ashley Martens
Introduction to Bird Ecology and Identification - Ryan Mitchell
Ceramics - Megan Moore
American Prairie Reserve Expedition - Priscilla Perez
Paint Big: Murals - Jessie Sherman
Character from Page to Stage, Actor’s Toolbox - Simone Weisman
Mindfulness & Meditation, Explore the Core - Cathy Werner
Aerial Arts
Board of Trustees
Bozeman Field School is a 501(c)(3) governed by a Board of Trustees.
Andy Harris
Founder, Board Chair
Andy co-founded Bozeman Field School in 2017. With degrees in Art, Marketing and Law, Andy has held leadership roles in both for-profit (high-tech; marketing) and NGO (environmental; education) businesses, and taught entrepreneurship at Montana State University. He emphasizes the importance of inter-disciplinary education that promotes “whole student” development at the heart of individualized learning. AT BFS, he is the Board Chair and a parent (Kellen Harris, ’22), and continues in the role of “vision keeper” for the school’s goal of empowering all students to find their paths to purpose. Pronouns: he/him/his. andy.harris@bozemanfieldschool.org
Katherine “Deedle” Kelter
Trustee
Deedle moved to Bozeman in 2021 after graduating from Trinity College in 2018 with a double major in Economics and Urban Studies. She began her career at the global crowdfunding platform Kiva where she helped strategic partners make micro-loans, expanding financial access for underserved communities. She then worked for Upstart Co-Lab, an impact investment organization focused on the creative economy, and now works for a multi-family office as an Investment Associate. In her free time, Deedle loves to get outdoors to ski, fly fish, bike and play racket sports with family and friends. Pronouns: she/her/hers.
Peter Stewart
Trustee
Peter Stewart, SVP of School Development for Stride K12, works with parents, teachers, community groups, school districts, school boards, departments of education, and policy makers across the United States and internationally to start new high-tech schools that use the Stride K12 academic program. He has helped develop large-scale, public e-learning programs in 16 states that currently serve more than 100,000 courses annually.
Peter has been an independent school founder and Head of School (Telluride Mountain School), a teacher, a school principal, and a curriculum director with 12 years of experience working in urban, rural, and international schools. He holds a BA in English from Williams College and an MA from Columbia University Teachers College.
Mark Francis
Trustee
A 25-year practitioner in corporate tax accountancy, Mark focuses on strategic financial planning for high-net worth individuals and family offices. At BFS, he manages all financial functions including financial controls, reporting, tax reporting and Grant Management compliance. He is an enrolled agent with the Internal Revenue Service, and Summa Cum Laude graduate in Accountancy from Pennsylvania State University. Pronouns: he/him/his
Campus & Facilities
Bozeman Field School’s campus is immediately next door to MSU, allowing easy access for our dual enrollment students. In addition, we are adjacent to the 21-acre parcel that will soon become our new campus.
Our new 10,000 square-foot, open-plan school will be under construction soon. The campus is 21 acres of undisturbed Montana range land—with two creeks, wetlands and animal pastures. It’s an ideal, open space setting for the school itself, as well as an “outdoor classroom” for much of our science, immersive and outdoor ed-based coursework. Located between Lincoln and Kagy (near Granny’s Donuts), the new Field school campus is an easy walk to MSU for our students who are enrolled in university classes.
Giving
We are committed to providing grants and scholarships so that students from all over the Gallatin Valley have access to individualized, independent educational options for high school, regardless of their family’s financial situation. Donations from individuals like you and from grants allow us to ensure our program is robust and accessible. Bozeman Field School is a registered 501(c)(3).
We’d love to hear from you about Giving
Job Opportunities
Immersive Course Instructor
We partner with community individuals and organizations throughout the year to offer Immersive courses taught by experts in their field and to connect our students with internship and learning opportunities in the community. If you are interested in teaching an Immersive course or hosting an intern or being involved in any other way, please reach out to us. We’d love to meet you.
Bozeman Field School is an equal opportunity organization and will not allow discrimination on the basis of age, ethnicity, race, ancestry, national origin, disability, size, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, socioeconomic background, or any other status prohibited by applicable law.
Inclusion
The mind, stretched to a new idea, never goes back to its original dimension.
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Bozeman Field School is a diverse, welcoming and vibrant community. We cultivate opportunities to bring people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives into our community.
Notice of Nondiscrimination Policy as to Students
Bozeman Field School (BFS) seeks a diverse community of students, faculty, and staff members. BFS does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, physical ability, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, creed, spirituality, or background in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, or scholarship and grant programs, or in admitting any of its students to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. All admissions decisions are made independently of the financial aid process.