Teacher Talk: Scott Stanton

by Bridgette Moore and Kayla Werner

After Scott Stanton graduated  from Monmouth College, he toured 48 states and Canada with his rock band, Kalico. They toured for five years before Stanton went into teaching music. 

Stanton first taught at the Yorkwood Community School District in Monmouth, IL. He was the choir director there for four years. 

He then moved to Price, UT  to work as the Director of Instrumental Music at Carbon County School District for seven years. 

While in Utah, he also had a job at the College of Eastern Utah as a music department chair for seven years. Stanton’s final teaching position before entering Iowa was Head of the Instrumental Music Department at Berkshire School in Sheffield, MA for three years.

He taught at two schools in Iowa before his position in Montezuma. In Oskaloosa, he taught at William Penn University as the Director of Fine Arts for three years. He spent five years as the Center Director and Administrator at Buena Vista University in Newton, IA. 

He started working with C. L. Barnhouse Music Publisher in 2000 to publish the pieces he has composed and continues to work with them today. The earliest piece of music that he remembers composing, called Tijuana Tears, was in eighth grade.

This marks the fourth year of Stanton’s teaching career at Montezuma Schools. While he was still an administrator at Buena Vista, he received a call from the principle at the time, asking if Stanton wanted to get back into teaching. 

In his free time, Stanton likes to play golf and play with his current band, ProMusica, on the weekends. 

His best experience is seeing the growth over the four years from where it was and now winning the Jazz Band Festival class 1A.