“Horse Class”: Peninsula teacher uses her passion to reach alternative high school students

Of the two passions in Molly Schauer’s life, one she discovered later than the other. 

It wasn’t until she was a senior in high school that Schauer encountered, “amazing, brilliant teachers who were passionate about what they did.” It was an experience that inspired her to, one day, become a teacher herself.

The other passion started at a much earlier age. “Two. Literally,” Schauer said.

It was last year, though, when Schauer was able to bring those two passions together. She pitched the administration at Pilarcitos High School on “Horse Class.”

“I’ve been thinking about Horse Class for the past ten years,” Schauer said. “My entire teacher career the idea has been milling around.”

“That's the dream, right? To go to work and do the thing that you love and have loved your entire life,” Schauer said.

So, every Tuesday, Schauer and roughly a dozen students board a bus for the short ride to the Moss Beach Ranch Equestrian Center where, with the help of horse trainer Mimi Mansour, students learn the basics of handling, care, grooming and eventually riding in the second semester. 

But Schauer saw her students gain more than just practical skills.

“They're building communication skills, working with a thousand-pound animal that speaks a different language than they do,” Schauer said. For her, it's a dream to combine her two favorite things in a way that benefits her favorite people: teenagers.