Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Golden Apple Award | April 4, 2016 Ms. Amy Hankins, Community Member
Ms. Amy Hankins consistently demonstrates deep support for the students of Seward schools. She has served on the Seward School Site Based Council and is currently serving as the Arts Chair on the board of the Seward Parent-Teacher-Association (PTA). In addition to serving on the PTA board, Amy generously offers her time and talents as the chair of the PTA’s Arts committee. This committee is charged with making the arts available to Seward area students. Last year, Amy spearheaded an 18 month effort to bring Jabali, an African dance troop, from Mombasa, Kenya, to Seward. She coordinated all aspects for this production, including fundraising, PR, ticket printing and sales, transportation and lodging, so that this cultural extravaganza could be enjoyed by the community of Seward and all three Seward schools, along with students from Connections Homeschool and Moose Pass School. This year she spearheaded Scrap Arts music to come to Seward in April 2016.
Amy also has a passion for technology. In 2013, Amy joined with two other staff members to lead a community-based computer programing club for youth aged nine to 18. The Seward Community Library and Museum generously hosts club meetings and activities. Amy’s work with this group eventually evolved into her work with Lego Robotics in the schools. Amy works with two Lego Robotics groups in Seward: one meets after-school and one meets during school.
The after-school Lego Robotics team, comprised of Seward Elementary and Seward Middle School students, and a homeschool student, met last year to learn to build and program Lego vehicles to perform specific tasks. Co-coach Leigh Ray said, “Amy leads the club by exuding enthusiasm for coding and robotics, which helps the kids get unstuck when the programming gets tough! She is becoming a very accomplished robotics programmer herself!” In 2015, the team competed in the first Lego League regional competition in Anchorage. They were then invited to return and compete in the state championship. At the end of the regional competition in Anchorage, Amy received the Coach Award for her excellence in coaching.
At Seward Elementary, Amy introduced Lego Robotics during the 2013-2014 school year. She worked with approximately 55 second grade students, teaching building and programing skills. This year, she has continued the program with the same students, who are now in third grade, as well as teaching it to all of the current second graders. Students enjoy the challenge of building and coding. Second grader Van Shank says, “It was fun programing the computers. Mrs. Hankins did a really good job.” In addition, Amy began training a teacher to continue the program as the current third graders move up a grade. “We value the way Amy looks for opportunities to enhance the education of all students in Seward through her ongoing dedication to the arts and technology,” said Principal David Kingsland.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education is proud to recognize Ms. Amy Hankins for her dedication to the students of the school district, past, present, and future.
Ms. Rankin was nominated by Principal David Kingland, on behalf of Seward Elementary School. Link Golden Apple recipients Ms. Amy Hankins and Board Member Lynn Hohl
What does Hope have to do with owls, bugs, and superheroes? Well, these topics meant money in the bank for some students at Hope School. “Bug” – Liam Bureau First place photo, Ididacontest
This year, students in Hope tried their hand at a new venture by competing in the state Ididacontest sponsored by the Alaska Society for Technology in Education, an organization that promotes and supports the use of technology in education throughout Alaska. The Ididacontest is broken into many different categories, including photos, tunes, documentaries, movies, podcasts, aps, and ebooks. Each category has sub categories and involves grades K-12 and adults. All works must be original works by students and copyright free.
Hope students hopped onboard back in October and began planning their strategies for making entries to this competition. Some tried their hand at writing books, others scoured hundreds of photographs for just the right choice, while others began devising a way to work with film. In the end, Hope students submitted over a dozen entries to the Ididacontest in several different categories.
Following their hard work, Hope brought home three prizes, raking in $200 in cash donated by Ididacontest sponsors. Ryker Skaaren and Wesli Dykstra won first place for their documentary, “Your First Step to Learning About Alaska’s Owls”, Liam Bureau took home first place for his photo, “Bug”, and Murphy Dykstra and Ryker Skaaren landed third place for their ebook, “Murphy and Ryder’s Book of Poems”. So, yes, right now, bugs, owls, and superheroes are quite popular in the Hope area.
If you would like to view these winning entries and others from around the state, visit www.ididacontest.org.
Story contributed by Terri Carter
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Golden Apple Award | March 7, 2016 Ms. Linda Brady, Educator
Ms. Linda Brady has been a dedicated employee for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District for sixteen years—teaching at Nikolaevsk School, Ninilchik School, and currently, Chapman School. “She is exceptional in her position as a special education teacher at Chapman School and provides the school its cornerstone for building all other programs,” said Conrad Woodhead, principal. “Linda is an active leader on our staff, conducting aide meetings each Monday morning and participating in all of our I-Team and Data Day meetings. This is great, but what makes Linda so special isn’t her willingness to step up whenever she’s needed; what makes her exceptional is her ability to seemingly pull effort out of kids that they never knew they had. The students she works with achieve what was otherwise impossible. Simply put, Linda is good for kids.”
Linda is selfless in her devoted stewardship to students. When need presents itself, Linda, and her husband Gary, have housed students, given students rides home, and on occasion, helped them with clothing items. She’s a fan favorite amongst the student body, probably because she’s there whenever they need her. A little known fact about Linda is that she has spent her life savings on her classroom library. We’ve had to give the UPS driver her own parking space, as she never drives by our school without dropping off another scholastic book order box for Linda. Every day, students work in her classroom before and after school. She even eats lunch with kids.
Legend has it that Linda does not sleep. When she finally goes home at night, she simply cooks dinner, tucks in her devoted husband Gary, and returns to work. Her colleagues have given up trying to beat her to work. “On more than several occasions, I’ve woke up to the ding of an email from my phone, only to find that’s it’s another IEP reminder from Linda. Most people are still sleeping at 5:45 a.m. in the morning; she is sending emails,” said Mr. Woodhead. “Linda is modest about her hard work and dedication, and she is deeply appreciated. We recognize Linda for her steadfast dedication to our students, our school, our community, and our district.”
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education is proud to recognize Ms. Linda Brady for her dedication to the students of the school district, past, present, and future. Link Golden Apple recipients
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Golden Apple Award | March 7, 2016 Linda Reinhart, Volunteer
Linda Reinhart has been a consistent volunteer at Paul Banks Elementary for thirteen years, since her granddaughters attended Paul Banks. She donates one to two days every week to help teachers and work with students, in addition to other special projects. The entire staff nominated her, and said, “Just when we feel like we can’t do one more thing, “Grandma Reinhart” is there for us. Paul Banks would not be the same learning community without her support.”
Linda is willing to assist with any situation at Paul Banks—including math centers, evening events, reading centers, art projects, and implementation of interventions. Linda has taken time to learn the Handwriting Without Tears Program and Read Naturally Program so that she can support teachers in the classrooms implementing these two important programs. She will take projects home to prepare them for instruction. Linda is a talented musician and will learn educational songs and teach them to the students. An example of this is teaching students a clock song she learned on the ukulele. She is equally present to assist students with special needs, and offer enrichment for other students. She loves to learn and shares this passion with the students and staff of Paul Banks. Every day it is evident how much she cares about all of the staff and students of Paul Banks.
Over the years, Paul Banks has had situations where support was needed and the school needed help providing it. Grandma Reinhart will step into a classroom to help with students that need extra support or spend time reading with students who don’t get the opportunity to do so at home. When a student is in need of love or attention, she is there.
Linda is an active member in the community. She assisted with sewing costumes for countless school plays, for students in schools from McNeil Canyon to Homer High School. She is passionate about making music and orchestra available and accessible to all the children in our community, and has been a key leader in the Kenai Peninsula Orchestra, the Homer Youth Symphony, and several years of Link-Up programs, which provide supplemental music instruction to entire schools.
Paul Banks is a better school because of Linda “Grandma” Reinhart. Most students call her Grandma Reinhart, and some even insist that she must really be their grandma, because they see her at school all the time. This spring she will be 80 years young and the students and staff of Paul Banks think they are lucky to have her consistent, quality, caring support!
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education is proud to recognize Linda “Grandma” Reinhart for her dedication to the students of the school district, past, present, and future.
Link Golden Apple recipients
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District
Contact: Pegge Erkeneff, 907.714.8888 News Release 2016 ASTE Technology Leadership Awards for KPBSD employees Soldotna, March 1, 2016—KPBSD celebrates employees Casey Olson and Trevan Walker, who received top statewide recognition with a 2016 Alaska Society for Technology in Education (ASTE) Leadership Award. Each year ASTE selects three people who demonstrate true technology integration and have a positive impact on teaching and learning in Alaska. In 2016, two of the three award recipients are KPBSD staff: the 2016 Technology Support of the Year award recipient is Casey Olson, district programmer and analyst, and Trevan Walker, Seward High School principal, who is the 2016 Administrator of the Year. #golden Casey Olson, ASTE 2016 Technology Support of the Year
Casey Olson, 2016 Technology Support of the Year
ASTE Technology Support of the Year Award recognizes Alaskans who help teachers and faculty find and use technology to support academic goals, which may include helping with hardware.
“I am very proud that Casey Olson has been named the ASTE tech support person of the year,” said Sean Dusek, superintendent. “He is an integral part of our videoconferencing effort to expand opportunities for students around the district. His effort has put a solid infrastructure in place so that students can work with experts and other students from around the world. Students are also able to collaborate with their peers within the district to experience our own diverse cultures. This award is very well deserved and I look forward to Casey continuing his leadership role in meeting our twenty-first century learning needs for our students.”
“The ASTE Tech Person of the Year recognition for Casey Olson is timely and well-deserved,” said Eric Soderquist, director of information services. “Casey has worked diligently to provide the vision and technical guidance critical to the recent Polycom RUS grant award, and continues to be a trusted resource for the video conference platform in use today. He clearly recognizes that IT is about more than just making technology work—focus must be placed on ensuring a given technical solution effectively meets the needs of users. Casey has proven masterful at combining his technical skillset with the vision required to adapt to ever-changing technology implementation and support needs.”
Learning about the award, Mr. Olson said, “I was surprised to be nominated for the ASTE award and honored to be chosen to receive this recognition. Being nominated by teachers in our school district that I’ve worked with for a number of years made the award even more significant to me personally.”
Trevan Walker, 2016 Administrator of the Year
Trevan Walker, ASTE 2016 Administrator of the Year ASTE Administrator of the Year award recognizes Alaskans who lead schools or organizations in the innovative use of technology to support academic goals.
“I am fortunate to have a staff who believes in our common vision to endeavor to be all things for all students,” said Trevan Walker, Seward High School principal. “The reality is that they should get the credit as they are the ones doing the hard work—not just with technology integration in instruction, and the innovative practices that come out of it, but also with the relationships they’re building with kids and genuine desire to see each one of them succeed at Seward High School, regardless of the pathway required to find it.”
Sean Dusek, superintendent said, “We are very proud of Mr. Walker for receiving the ASTE Principal of the Year award. Mr. Walker is an innovative school principal that has worked very hard to meet the individual needs of students at Seward High School. The entire staff is engaged in this ongoing effort and also share in this award. We are looking forward to even greater degrees of success with students in Seward as this award represents the beginning of the modern learning system in KPBSD.”
“This district is making serious headway in tackling the online and blended learning formats,” said Amanda Adams, KPBSD distance learning teacher. “It is really exciting to watch whole cohorts of teachers developing new practices to meet the needs of students. With innovative people like Trevan and Casey, they are holding the doors open for teachers like me to not be bound by tradition. The question is not why do you want to do that, but instead, how can I help you do that.” Links
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Golden Apple Award
December 7, 2015 Clayton Smith, Special Education Paraprofessional
Clayton Smith, Golden Apple recipient and school board member Sunni Hilts
Clayton Smith has been a motivating leader and dedicated teammate in the Homer High School (HHS) intensive needs classroom for 15 years. He is considered the team captain in the room, based both on his positive attitude and enthusiasm for his work, as well as his vast knowledge and experience in the classroom. Clayton has taken time to get to know each student he works with very well. His experience with them allows him to identify their individual needs, to voice ideas and ways to meet those needs and support the students in very specific and personal ways. Clayton’s many years working in the school with various classes and teachers has resulted in his being considered a jack of all trades. His student ‘toolbox’ is filled with strategies and methods that he uses based on the situation and need. Because of his vast knowledge of the students, school, and teachers, Clayton is incredibly flexible in his work. If a co-worker is absent, and a substitute is present, Clayton gladly adjusts his schedule to work with different students as needed. This flexibility is present in helping out team members as well. His knowledge base is critical in ensuring high quality supports for students in the school at all times. Clayton embraces the culture of inclusion at HHS, and finds creative ways to ensure students experience success and inclusion with peers daily. He wants all students to be a vibrant and vital part of the school community, and participate as fully as possible.
Clayton has been dedicated to KPBSD since 1992, when he first began as a custodian at McNeil Canyon School. He then worked as a paraprofessional at Homer Middle School for two years before transferring to Homer High School as a paraprofessional in 2002. In spite of his many years of work and commitment, Clayton continues to seek out new ways to learn and improve in his field. Clayton identifies areas of need in the team, and suggests topics that they would benefit from training in. He participates actively in trainings, and his newly learned approaches are seen incorporated into his daily work. He exemplifies the ideals of a lifelong learner.
Clayton engages in outreach within the school regularly. He gets to know students in the school outside of the intensive needs classroom, and makes great efforts to connect with all students in HHS. Clayton is known for his birthday greetings; he somehow knows the birthdays of every student in the school, and on their birthday, he seeks each one out and gives them a personal birthday greeting. This desire to connect with every student in the building, and willingness to take the time out of his very busy days to recognize and make a student feel connected and noticed exemplifies his approach to his work, going above and beyond his regular duties daily. He also helps in the development and implementation of school traditions. Annually for three years and counting, Clayton has served as the school host for a Thanksgiving lunch, providing a warm, home-cooked meal to students who have participated in or helped with activities in the intensive needs classroom, or worked individually with students in the room. This dinner is highly attended and valued; last year over 50 students came to eat together and be recognized for their efforts.
In addition to all his efforts connecting with students during the school day, Clayton has also been very involved with extracurricular events in the school. He has volunteered for the track team for 15 years, and was a girls’ basketball JV coach for five years. Clayton uses his knowledge of athletic activities and his coaching skills to identify creative ways for general education students to aid intensive needs students, in order to include them more in the school setting. An example of this is his development of Paired Pairs in athletic activities. Clayton helped pair general education students to play next to an intensive needs student during an athletic activity; the general education student provides assistance both in showing the rules of the game, or what to do, as well as modeling the physical skills and actions necessary. Annually in the fall and spring, Clayton runs a tennis activity at the end of the day during the school Focus on Learning block, encouraging a general education student to play alongside students with intensive needs. This activity has been wildly successful; many students ask to participate in this venture. Last spring over 30 students participated in this weekly event.
Another example of this was when Clayton used his track knowledge to help discuss and initiate the development of a possible unified track team. Using his coaching knowledge and skill set, Clayton began advocating that a student he was working with may be successful in a school-based team such as track or cross country. Through Clayton’s encouragement and knowledge, skills were taught to prepare this student slowly to possibly join the team. The student then began participating in running events over the summer. With the help of many adults, including the teacher, the cross country coach, and parents, school athletic director, the student joined the cross country team this fall, participating in practices, and even running in meets and regionals. At the awards banquet at the end of the season, he was recognized with an award for having the courage to start the race. Clayton’s skill at noticing student strengths and building on them was the foundation for this student experiencing this success.
Clayton has used his experience as first mate on the Predator to help in the school setting. He helped shape the Homer Marine Trades Association Focus on Learning series at HHS, which introduces students to specific marine trades based in Homer. Clayton spoke with students about the opportunity, offered to contact individuals to present, attended presentations, and offered guidance in material to be presented. His passion for all students in the school setting shines in many more acts throughout his many years working at HHS.
Clayton exemplifies outstanding personal dedication and commitment to the school community that he serves. He is a devoted grandpa, dad, husband, teacher, teammate, and friend. He uses his knowledge and experiences to help shape all students as they learn and grow. He shares in the learning journey with his classroom team. His hard work ethic that is utilized as he serves as first mate on the Predator, also is exemplified daily at school with students. Clayton is grounded, salt-of-the earth, with a big heart that shows when he is overcome with emotion when students make small gains as well as epic milestones. Clayton shows students that he won’t give up on them, and they in turn make efforts to grow and to prove him right.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education is proud to recognize Mr. Clayton Smith for his dedication to the students of the school district, past, present, and future. Links
Nearly every community in Alaska has a head start program; KPBSD is proud to receive the Head Start Award for Collaboration with the Kenaitze Early Childhood Center (ECC) Head Start program. Teresa Smith, Kenaitze Childhood Manager, and Robin Evans, KPBSD, receive the Head Start Award for Collaboration on behalf of the KPBSD.
“We value our relationship with Kenaitze Head Start and feel that we are fortunate to have their outstanding staff working with our future students,” said Clayton Holland, director of pupil services. “The good work of the Kenaitze Head Start staff with our students and families has made a significant difference in how we perform as a school district and how our students do on an individual level. The collaboration between Kenaitze Head Start and the school district is truly about mutual welfare and benefit for the students and families on the Kenai and is part of what makes this district and community special.”
For seventeen years the Kenaitze Early Childhood Center (ECC) – Head Start has had a strong relationship with KPBSD Pupil Services, Child Find, administrators, and kindergarten & Pre-K staff.
The Child Find Coordinator works with our program to ensure all developmental screenings are completed and reviewed prior to the 45 day deadline required by Head Start,” said Teresa Smith. “This collaboration allows students with possible developmental delays to be observed and referrals made as early as possible in the school year. Through each school year KPBSD will include ECC staff in their trainings and events. Over the years our relationship has grown to be positive and flexible. Concerns regarding a certified special needs child are resolved timely with a phone call, emails or face to face meeting between ECC staff, KPBSD staff and parents. Our strong Memorandum of Agreement clearly defines roles and responsibilities and provides the framework for our collaborative process to provide the best possible services for children and families.
Each year, for the last fifteen years, ECC has hosted a “Transition Night Dinner” for all of our graduating preschoolers, their families and KPBSD kindergarten staff and principals. On Transition Night, teachers and principals from the LEA kindergartens join us and our families for a dinner to meet and provide information about the schools in which their children will be enrolled. This is a very well attended activity, and is a good opportunity for families to begin developing a relationship with their new school. The goal is to allow for smooth transition of children and families from Head Start into kindergarten. In addition kindergarten teachers have scheduled transition meetings with our Education Coordinator to discuss specific needs and possible placement suggestions prior to students moving on. Some teachers have even come over to observe students in their preschool classroom in the late spring.
The KPBSD continually, year after year, works collaboratively with us to ensure that together we provide quality preschool services in our community. We are privileged to work together with the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District to serve children and families in this community.”
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District
Contact: Pegge Erkeneff, 907.714.8888
News Release Soldotna, November 23, 2015—Each year two Alaska schools are honored as a National Title I Distinguished School. This year, Chapman School in Anchor Point was recognized for exceptional student performance for two or more consecutive years. Nikolaevsk School in Nikolaevsk was recognized for significantly closing the achievement gap between student groups.Both schools are in the diverse Kenai Peninsula Borough School District (KPBSD).
We are very proud of the schools,” said Sean Dusek, superintendent. “Their staff, students, and communities have worked very hard. There is an obvious focus on meeting individual student needs which has shown great results. We are very excited that the schools have earned this honor from the state level.”
A November 20, 2015, press release from the State of Alaska Department of Education and Early Development stated: “Title I schools receive federal funds to support programs that supplement instruction to meet the educational needs of low-achieving students in high-poverty schools. The National Title I Distinguished Schools Program is a project of the National Title I Association. Selected schools must have a poverty rate of at least 35 percent and have been recognized by the state as a reward school in either the highest performing category or the highest progress category. Each state, using its own selection process, may select one school in each category for the honor.”
“The educators, students, and parents of Chapman School and Nikolaevsk School believe that all students can achieve, and they prove it every day,” said Commissioner Mike Hanley. “It is a great pleasure to congratulate these school-communities for their well-deserved recognition.” Chapman School
Chapman School focuses on interventions and supports for grades K-3 in an effort to help decrease the learning gap between student groups. The foundation for these interventions is based on district-adopted and research-based curriculum partnered with strong data-based decision making for all students. The students at Chapman get a rich and varied education experience thanks to strong community partnerships.
“Through our Title I programs, Response To Intervention (RTI) program, community involvement, and top-notch staff, we continue to make it possible for all of our students to achieve—our students continue to rise to the challenge and do just that,” said Principal Conrad Woodhead. Nikolaevsk School
Nikolaevsk School is proud of its high expectations for students and consistent 100% graduation rate. All students at Nikolaevsk develop SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound) based on their personal academic data and lead their own student-parent-teacher conferences. All Nikolaevsk teachers work as a cooperative team and operate under a shared philosophy that every student is everyone’s responsibility.
Principal Michael Sellers said, “As a result of the teachers’ efforts toward focusing on individual student needs, adopting programs that fit within those goals, and focusing on research-based methods in instruction, Nikolaevsk has seen years of success as a five-star school and a school with successful students.”
Alaska identifies eligible schools for the award based on their students’ performance on state standards-based assessments. Identified schools then must choose to apply for the honor, providing evidence of effectiveness in research-based instructional strategies, opportunities for all children to achieve, coordination of Title I with other programs, professional development of staff, and partnerships with parents, families and communities. Links and contacts
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Golden Apple Award
November 2, 2015 Lisa Green, Volunteer
Mrs. Lisa Green and Superintendent Sean Dusek
“If it needs done, Lisa Green is there to do it,” said Doug Hayman, Tustumena Elementary School principal. “She does it with style, thoroughness, and the upmost attention to detail. A room parent and “Miss Lisa” to the students, she goes on every field trip with her children. Her level of commitment and involvement is unmeasurable. She is in our building at least one full day each week, but the work she gets done in that day exceeds anything one would normally expect. Her leadership is also appreciated. She recruits other parents for school events and field trips as well. She was instrumental in the completion of our school garden including the planting, and now harvesting, of our first crop of potatoes. Mrs. Green is always willing to work with small groups of children whether it is on a project or remedial instruction.”
Mrs. Lisa Green volunteers at Tustumena Elementary nearly every day she has off from her regular work at Cadre Feed Store. Even when she is working at her regular job, she is functioning as a liaison between the school and the business community, gathering donations or arranging discounts for projects around the school. She has been a part of every PTO function or activity in the last seven years.
In addition to the PTO events, Mrs. Green helps every teacher—in any capacity that is requested. It doesn’t matter if one of her children is in the classroom, she will laminate, prepare materials, make take-home booklets, tear out workbook pages, label supplies, and she makes extravagant bulletin boards throughout the school. She runs our Box Top store, organizes bake sales—including large contributions to the sales—and solicits items for the school Harvest Auction fundraiser.
Lisa Green also takes on initiative projects. She has been the point person on professional development with our Vari-Quest machine (a fancy die-cut machine), and worked on our Schoolyard Habitat Project. She has taken the initiative to clean out and organize the school workroom, as well as contact a company representative when the Vari-quest machine was in need of repair.
Without doubt, Mrs. Green’s service to Tustumena Elementary has benefited every member of the school community. From students, to teachers, from parents, to administration, Lisa Green is a go-to person and a value-add to the community.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education is proud to recognize Mrs. Lisa Green for her dedication to the students of the school district, past, present, and future. Links
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Golden Apple Award
November 2, 2015 Patrick Dwyer, Educator
Golden Apple recipient Patrick Dwyer, and Skyview Middle School staff
“Mr. Patrick Dwyer is a positive educator who builds rapport with students and goes beyond the scope of his teaching duties when working with students,” said Sarge Truesdell, Skyview Middle School principal. “He is an innovator in the classroom as well as in his duties as our athletic director and head track coach. He has been teaching science at the middle school for the past nine years. A positive staff member, he mentors young teachers and is creative when working toward complex problems in our large building of over 400 students, and more than 50 staff members.”
In 2012, Mr. Dwyer co-created a sixth grade transition program for incoming students to the middle school. As a seventh grade science teacher, he recognized the challenges that incoming students had when transitioning from elementary school to middle school. The summer program has continued to grow serving over 20 students a year, despite shrinking resources. In the four years since Mr. Dwyer helped to create the program, it has served nearly 100 students. Mr. Dwyer has been able to work alongside one of his colleagues to continue to be responsive to the need of students despite limited time and funding.
An innovator, Mr. Dwyer not only developed the middle school transition program, but he has contributed on several district and statewide committees. This past summer he was part of a district-wide science collaboration that worked well into the summer break to find resources that matched the KPBSD science curriculum. Mr. Dwyer is a highly organized person and during his five years as the athletic director, he has put policies and procedures in place to make the athletic department more efficient. When Soldotna Middle School relocated and transitioned to become Skyview Middle School, he successfully transitioned the entire athletic department—including all the equipment and ordering of new uniforms. The ordering of uniforms was a daunting task as it required sizing, quotes, colors, numbers, and funding for every sport offered at the middle school.
Mr. Dwyer has his administrative degree and is the first person to volunteer to substitute in the office when the principal and vice principal are out of the building. Additionally, he has substituted in other KPBSD schools when an administrative substitute was not available. As a substitute principal, Mr. Dwyer can handle any situation that arises, keeps parents informed, and holds students accountable. “Mr. Dwyer is a work horse—he puts in the time that most other educators are just unwilling to put in,” said Sarge Truesdell. “His vehicle can be found in the parking lot early in the morning and late at night. He can be seen setting up cross country running events, putting the flags on the soccer field, and rolling out the scorer’s table for basketball games all throughout our athletic seasons. He does all of that while still planning and preparing for a full six class period day with multiple age and grade science classes. He demonstrates on a daily basis all of the personal and professional qualities of a powerful and dedicated educator.”
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education is proud to recognize Mr. Patrick Dwyer for his dedication to the students of the school district, past, present, and future. Links
