Nancy Stout smiled proudly as she pointed to her collection of pictures and letters tacked on the wall near her desk at El Camino High School in Ventura.

There were letters and pictures from a former student who is now a sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. Another picture was a cutout from a magazine fashion spread featuring a current student on a modeling assignment in Italy.

In her 25 years of teaching at the small, independent-study high school, Stout has enjoyed watching her students find their way in the world. El Camino's unique program and flexible hours allow students to finish their classes while holding down jobs, college courses, internships or community service.

It's a program Stout helped develop when the school opened in 1982, and her pioneering efforts and work as an educator and mentor have earned her this year's Ventura Unified School District Teacher of the Year award.

"When they leave here, we want them to transition to their final goals," said Stout, 60. "When I get up in the morning, I love coming to work. That's what I want for all of my students."

Stout was El Camino's first teacher and helped develop the school's curriculum and philosophy. She remembers challenging times during the first year at the school, which then was part of the district's adult education program.

Stout remembers teaching her first class in a 10-by-15-foot coat closet at Will Rogers School in Ventura.

"To be at the bottom of something so new and to help build something brand new ... it was scary but challenging for me."

Stout said one of the primary challenges was establishing the school's credibility. In that first year, however, the program won full accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

The school opened with four students and now has 250 and its own campus on College Drive. In the fall, it's slated to move to Ventura College.

"She really has become my best friend over the years," El Camino senior Kearney Donner said of Stout. "I have dyslexia and she encourages me and helps me find better ways to understand the material. She's like a watchful hawk watching over her little chicks."

Because El Camino is an independent study school, students are required to check in with Stout and other teachers for at least two hours a week. They are, however, required to do at least five hours of homework every day and pass all of their exams with a C average or better.

To encourage them to stay focused, Stout discovers her students' passions and builds a curriculum that highlights them. It's helped many of them flourish at El Camino and even after they move on to universities or careers, Stout said.

"I enjoy the helping part, and I enjoy hearing that aha!' when they finally figure it out," Stout said. "It's an intrinsic, positive feeling outside of yourself."

El Camino Principal Kelsie Sims said Stout serves as a mentor not only to her students but also to fellow teachers.

"Every new teacher in El Camino has learned from her tutelage," Sims said. "We are a small school in a very collaborative environment and she is an excellent mentor."