College of Education
PO Box 5774
Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5774
(928) 523-2611
Ricky "Rick" Lynn Morrison was born in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, May 17, 1951, to Joe and Dorie Morrison. He was the oldest of two children—he had a younger brother, Jeff. Rick's childhood was filled with changes and excitement since his family was a military family and moved wherever Joe was stationed. This helped shape Rick's love of people and his desire to befriend anyone around him. Rick married his wife LeAnn on June 5, 1976. Rick left this earth on February 5, 2006.
Rick Morrison was a born educator. He began his working career as a draftsman and later an artist, but quickly became involved in working with youth as a Parks and Recreation Director having obtained his Bachelor's degree from Northern Arizona University in Recreation and Leisure Services Management, maintaining a 3.00 GPA. Rick's love of teaching blossomed while working in recreation, going back to NAU to first obtain his teaching certification so that he could be a middle school technology and math teacher and later to obtain his Master's degree in educational leadership, maintaining a 4.00 GPA. He was a member of Phi Kappa Phi, National Association for Elementary School Principals, Association for Supervision of Curriculum Development, and Arizona School Administrators.
Rick's middle school students were blessed to be working with a man who had such vision and sense of caring. Various projects included computer exploration, space flight, rocketry, aerodynamics, propulsion systems, trajectory, recovery systems, rubber band car competitions, 3-D architectural model building, wind-powered vehicles, telecommunications, laser engineering projects, entry level word processing and entry level digital photography. Rick stated, "My room was a cross curricular classroom with students continually integrating computer presentations, video, audio, scanner and digital photography into their science, language arts, social studies, speech and math projects."
Rick felt he had to make the leap to the principalship so that he could touch more students' lives. His vision for learners was "The principal is responsible for supporting learners by building strong school/parent relationships, modeling the values of a quality education, including the life-long learning skills of reading, writing, researching, and mathematics. The principal provides motivation for student learning and builds student self-esteem by acknowledging student accomplishments, promoting appropriate study skills, and maintaining a welcoming school climate." This vision was in place everyday that Rick was a principal. The students at his school remember him as smiling every morning and afternoon, doing his best to make them smarter, praising their work, visiting their classrooms, taking care of kids, and, as one student put it, "Mr. Morrison makes me feel very special and welcomed when he says 'good morning' to me everyday." All the students and staff knew that Rick's favorite word was "Outstanding" because he used it to describe special moments in time or extraordinary performances and efforts.
Rick's vision for teachers was extremely focused. "Teachers can be the single most influential force in a child's life. They can turn on a child's imagination and desire to investigate all the wonders of the world and learning. They can motivate young people to strive for greatness. To be a teacher is to accept the tremendous responsibility of studying children in order to learn how to best meet their individual learning needs. To be a teacher is to accept the challenge of becoming a life-long learner in order to stay abreast of the most recent research on how children learn and place into practice the most effective differentiated instructional strategies. To be a teacher is to become a lifelong student. Teachers should be active participants in both individualized and school-wide staff development programs. Strong planning, assessment and classroom management skills; knowledge of instructional strategies, curriculum, and state standards; and the ability to form and maintain strong relationships with students and teacher/parent partnerships are critical to student success and learning." Rick lived this teaching philosophy everyday he was with children. He was a strong advocate for always doing what was right for the student.
Rick's organizational vision concentrated on the celebrations of student, staff and school successes. "The principal's understanding, vision, and commitment cause a trickle down effect to staff, students and the overall community of learners, resulting in higher expectations and higher achievement for all. The principal must balance planning, organizing, coordinating, reporting, communicating, staffing, and budgeting in order to realize a school where all students receive a quality education and all students learn."
When once asked "How would your best friend describe you? How would your harshest critic describe you?" Rick responded with, "My best friend would describe me as an individual who is driven to provide the best instruction, best practice, and best mentorship to students and staff. I am a team builder who seeks input, history, and council from all shareholders. I make decisions in the best interest of students first then staff, based on most current research. As an individual I am one who does whatever it takes to meet student needs and assist students with learning strategies. My best friend would say I am dedicated to self-improvement and learning. If and when I don't know something I seek out experts, read books and study to become more knowledgeable on the topic. My harshest critic would describe me as single-minded, focused, on being the best."
In addition to "outstanding!" Rick also had a favorite song he liked to sing the first line of when he started an assembly or gave morning messages over the intercom or if he saw someone a little down-in-the-dumps in the hall. As one student put it, "I liked Mr. Morrison. He was never shy on the microphone. He was a good principal." Another student states "We all wish you were here being our principal and yelling out 'I feel good!'" And another sums it up for everyone, "And I did feel good when you said, 'I feel good!!!'"
To honor Rick’s life and the many contributions he made to the field of education and his community, family and friends created the Rick Morrison Memorial Scholarship. This memorial scholarship is a celebration for those entering the education profession. It is a tribute to the type of person Rick would have wanted to continue to carry out his legacy of learning. A fifth grader best tells the true meaning of Rick's influence on others—"I hope that you are proud of what Mr. Morrison did. He helped kids. We will always love him because he was the nicest, funniest, coolest principal I will ever have."
Rick’s colleagues and students at Oro Grande Elementary School also wanted to create a memorial that would honor his love and dedication to education and their love and respect of him. Under the guidance of Mike Murray, a memorial bench and garden soon graced the school campus. Local businesses graciously and gratefully donated materials. The students helped to plant the garden.
These photos speak more than words ever could about the love of this man.
Rick didn’t just work as principal of Oro Grande Elementary School, he became a part of the school. He was good at what he did. He studied, he read, he taught, he learned---all in his quiet (and sometimes not so quiet) way. He was a master at putting on a show when the situation called for it, yelling or singing “I Feel Good,” but he could also be just one of the crowd in other circumstances silently planting seeds of inspiration or knowledge in those around him.
So whenever you’re around this planter or look at these flowers, whenever you sit on this bench, you will be reminded of Rick’s laughter, and the joy he brought to your life. And if you listen carefully, you just might imagine that you hear his infectious laughter. Our lives are enriched and that much better because of him.
And in the words of Rick---he would have one thing to say about this memorial, “Outstanding.”
Thank you all.
(Excerpts from the text of the dedication of Rick’s memorial bench and garden)
