Idyllwild School has a new 4th grade teacher, Lindsay Crater, who attended Idyllwild School as a student from 3rd to 8th grade. Crater graduated from Hemet High School and, after completing bachelor’s and master’s degrees, returns to her alma mater to teach. Photo by Marshall Smith
Idyllwild School has a new 4th grade teacher, Lindsay Crater, who attended Idyllwild School as a student from 3rd to 8th grade. Crater graduated from Hemet High School and, after completing bachelor’s and master’s degrees, returns to her alma mater to teach.
Photo by Marshall Smith

Lindsay Crater started third grade at Idyllwild School, finished eighth grade and, like many, went on to Hemet High. This August, she returned to her alma mater to teach fourth grade.

“I grew up here,” said Crater. “It’s still the same magical place, as open and beautiful as it was when I was a child.”

Crater and her family have deep Idyllwild roots. Her mother, Corinne “Cori,” taught at Hemet High and is still an instructional aide. Her father, Brian, is associate executive director of Camp Ronald McDonald. During the summers, Lindsay assists with the horse program at the camp.

After graduating from Hemet High where she played water polo and swam competitively, Crater left the area for college at California State University, Chico. While at Chico State, she played intramural water polo and swam. After obtaining a degree in art and interior design, Carter worked as an interior designer for the Holiday Inn hotel chain.

Finding the corporate world not a perfect fit for her skills and sensibilities, Crater returned to college with the goal of teaching. She obtained a credentialed master’s degree in education from Western Governor’s University in Utah.

After graduation, she moved to the Long Beach area and taught at Ocean Charter School in Culver City and Heritage Oak Private School in Yorba Linda. She briefly student taught at Idyllwild School in 2011.

Crater seemed happily at home in her fourth-grade Idyllwild School classroom, grateful to be back in Idyllwild and to be teaching at a school she attended as a child. “The children here are wonderful,” said Crater. “They’re kind-hearted and love to learn. And I know many of their parents. I’m so thankful to be here and look forward to this new adventure.”