Idaho’s Ybarra steps down, reveals new job

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra is stepping down from her position in the new year after seven years of service.

Ybarra announced at a State Department of Education Christmas party on Dec. 22 that she was leaving to take a position as an elementary school teacher in Mountain Home.

“Trying to choose my new chapter, I looked at a number of job offers in Idaho and beyond,” Ybarra said in a news release. “In my heart, I realized that what feels right at this point is to go back to my natural habitat and the place that started me on my professional journey – the classroom.”

Ybarra will leave her post Jan. 2 and start Jan. 4 as a kindergarten teacher at Stephensen Elementary School on Mountain Home Air Force Base.

Ybarra spent two decades in the Mountain Home School District as a teacher, assistant principal, principal and federal programs director before being elected as Idaho’s 25th superintendent of public instruction in 2014. She took office in 2015 and won reelection in 2018.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ybarra filled in a substitute teacher, according to the news release.

“When I filled in as a substitute teacher for schools hit hard by the pandemic,” Ybarra said, “it reminded me how much I loved that daily contact with kids, helping them grow as students and individuals.”

Ybarra lives in Mountain Home with her husband, and her son is set to graduate soon from the University of Idaho and will join the military.

“My term in office ends in the middle of the year, so it makes sense to go home and do what I love,” she said. “And I really look forward to working on the Air Force base with children who share the special pride and challenges of having parents who serve our nation.”