Celebrate Aaron Gordon, 2018 Kenai BP Education Ally

2018 Kenai Education Ally
Nate Crabtree, K-Beach Elementary was in on a secret, and made up a story to bring Mr. Aaron Gordon to the BP Teachers of Excellence celebration. During the evening awards, Mr. Gordon discovered he was the 2018 Kenai Education Ally when Superintendent Dusek began reading about him!
“Our Educational Ally works with young students in an intensive-needs, structured classroom.
The teachers who work with this ally say the individual is enormously patient and flexible when dealing with difficult personalities or situations involving conflict, refusals or multiple health impairments.
This ally is tolerant of the children’s differences and cool-headed in tough situations. What’s more, this person is also really fun to be around. A film major at University of Alaska Fairbanks, this ally runs an after-school film club that has become hugely popular and accommodates students affected by autism, enabling them to engage in positive social interaction with their peers.
Fluent in sign language, this person can often be seen carrying on conversations with hearing-impaired students, helping to broaden their vocabulary and simply adding a bit of laughter to their day with corny jokes or lengthy discussions of Pokemon.
For many years, our Educational Ally has been a counselor at the Royal Family Summer Camp, an intensive and successful opportunity for local foster children. Many of these children have very tough backgrounds, and when they return to school, they invariably seek out this person as a safe and positive staff member, and have better transitions back into the school routine.
This ally is so approachable and fun that staff and students alike are glad he’s at the school. This person was nominated for this award by the teachers he works with, perhaps the best evidence we have that he is truly an Educational Ally.”
“I believe Aaron Gordon makes a difference in public education because he brings in the experience and skillset of an award winning filmmaker to the classroom setting,” said Nate Crabtree, principal. “This is evident in the high quality videos he helps created to promote positive school culture, the after school film club that he started to introduce elementary students to film and using his expertise to enhance the educational experience for a homebound student.”
“I am very proud of Aaron Gordon,” said Sean Dusek, superintendent. “He ensures a strong, positive relationship with each and every student. Mr. Gordon is very deserving of this recognition and I look forward to his continued excellence and leadership in our district.”
Congratulations to Kalifornsky Beach Elementary’s Aaron Gordon, BP Educational Ally