Chris Holmen is the 3 rd -6 th grade math and 3 rd -5 th grade science teacher at the Mountain School . He first came to the school as the 1 st /2 nd grade teacher, a position he held for four years. Chris was raised in White Bear Lake , Minnesota . After studying aviation at the University of North Dakota , Chris migrated to Durango , Colorado . There, he graduated from Fort Lewis College with a degree in English, also completing the college's teacher education program. As a faculty member at the Mountain School , Chris is convinced that he is the nation's luckiest teacher, being allowed to teach with autonomy and creativity in one of the world's most beautiful mountain towns. He is also grateful to teach with passionate and professional teachers in a school committed to providing a meaningful education. Other than the joys of leading a class, Chris enjoys powder days, glassy lakes, rolling singletracks and playing with his golden retriever, Mulligan. "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." -W. B. Yeats-