Thank You Old Harbor, Alaska

We moved to Alaska on a whim. In 2016 I had had enough with working in Minneapolis Public Schools. More about that in the next installment of realjobstories.com A friend suggested that I go teach in Alaska. On an impulse I posted my resume on an Alaska Teaching Jobs site. Within a week 4 different districts were courting my services. I looked at images of the mountains and ocean of Old Harbor, Kodiak Island, Southeast Alaska and knew I must journey to this place where the North Pacific meets rugged mountains, the realm of whales and the world’s largest land predator, the Kodiak Brown Bear.

      The Native Alaskan village of Nuniaq, known as Old Harbor, Kodiak Island, Alaska became my home and where I taught primary grades K – 2.  My spouse served as the tribal administrator for the Alutiiq Tribe of Old Harbor. Old Harbor has been continuously inhabited for thousands of years by the noble Alutiiq people.

        In this place accessible only by plane and boat I had one of grandest adventures a human being walking the face of the earth could hope for.  

      Old Harbor School, K through grade 12, only had 25 students, half of whom were in my combined K -2 class.

      A primary teacher, a grades 3 – 5 teacher, a special education teacher with one student and a middle /high school staff who taught social studies on site and virtually to other remote Kodiak schools.  Each middle and high school teacher in Kodiak rural schools specialized in a subject taught via video.

       Two or three paraprofessional aides. My aide was a 300-pound dude who resembled Hagrid from Harry Potter who taught me how to process a deer carcass using only a safety knife. 

       There was no on-site principal. The staff ran the school. An admin based in Kodiak made the trip over the mountains a couple of times a year to observe. The admin had responsibility for Kodiak Rural Schools consisting of seven tiny remote villages on Kodiak Island. 

      I had two different admins during my time there.

      The first was fine, no problems. She was from Minnesota and hired me in large part because of our shared regional background. Minnesota teachers have a good reputation. 

      She did formal observations like any admin, with a twist. Once she visited my class virtually via an ipad. The device was mounted on a wheeled tripod controlled remotely from Kodiak. On the day of my observation the robotic thing doing face time, rolled, literally rolled, into my class room. It caused quite a stir. The kindergartners upon recognizing that there was a human somewhere in the apparatus, rushed in for a group hug. I-admin toppled over and was left observing little feet. Restored to vertical the observation went well, although the five-year-olds couldn’t stop smashing their faces right on the screen. Pretty funny and my admin to her credit thought so too.

       After the observation the she steered her virtual self, back towards the office only to take another tumble.  “A little help please,” pleaded the fallen android. A tiny human helped out and set the admin right, again.

     That’s a Real Job Story.

      Minnesota admin got a job in Anchorage. Her replacement was a former teacher in Old Harbor who knew all the inhabitants. She was married to an Alutiiq guy, a pilot from the village. This admin understood the power of litnauwista  (teacher in Alutiiq) relationships with students and families.  Most admins don’t.  I’m proud to say, that the word from community members was that Mr. Mike (yours truly) was well regarded. Again, the ability to connect with your clients in the name of learning is not a quality that most admins seem to value. This admin did and she let me know this in her soft-spoken way.

      Our wonderful school secretary, a figure well known in Alaska, Phyllis Clough, saw first-hand the work I was doing with kids. If Phyllis liked you she let the world know and I’m sure she related what she was seeing.

       Life was not always easy in a remote SE Alaska community. Our admin showed support in small gestures like a surprise box of airlifted donuts for staff.

       Another example: I volunteered to be on a technology committee with teachers in Kodiak. They met in person and I joined the meetings via audio. Due to poor sound quality I could not follow the discussion. The challenge of being virtual while everyone else was face to face was difficult.  They met in a loud coffee shop and I couldn’t hear a dang thing. It wasn’t working and I asked skaulum kasa’inaa (school admin) to be released. She completely understood and excused me from the committee. It wasn’t working for me and that was enough for her.

      Another time we were in Kodiak, in person, for professional training. Admin knew our time was short and we teachers had a plane to catch back to Old Harbor. I had to get to the Alaska DMV to get my license and she released me to do so. Actions like that inspire loyalty although that wasn’t her goal. She was genuinely concerned that her staff got what they needed.

       This admin emitted a vibe of support and genuine appreciation. Because of her faith in you she was not a person you wanted to disappoint. She unintentionally, not as a hidden admin strategy, inspired loyalty. The only response to her belief in you as person and professional was to do your best. Not doing so would be shameful. No threats, no passive aggressive, no culture of fear. She understood that teacher working conditions are student learning conditions.

      That’s rare. I really enjoyed working with this skaulum kasa’inaa. She helped make our first Alaska adventure a good one. The challenges, adventures and rewards of living in Old Harbor need to be properly recorded. Can’t do it here in a 1,000 word piece.

       I can recognize and thank the wonderful admins I worked with there. Quyanaasinaq skaulum kasa’inaa!