Hello! This summer, many of us will travel within our great state, and out of state. While health guidelines and mandates do change, these may be helpful travel related resources for you:
Health Mandate 010: Interstate and
International Travel
note:
As of June 28, 2020, Alaskans
returning to the state from a trip five days or less are not required to
take a test before departing, and can upon return, take a COVID test at the
airport, and quarantine until receiving a negative result. Plus, “The resident
will receive a voucher for a second test that must occur within 7-14 days after
arrival, and should minimize interactions until the results from the second
test shows the resident is negative for COVID-19.” Alternately, if no test is
taken upon return, Alaskans must quarantine 14 days. Details about this option
are on the State Travel webpage, in the Travel Declaration Form options.
Health Mandate 018: Intrastate Travel
note: “Intrastate
Travel Between Communities Located Off The Road System or The Marine Highway
System Is Permitted, but subject to local travel restrictions.”
As
our KPBSD
SmartStart 2020 plans for reopening schools in August comes together, you
will definitely receive more information later in July. Meanwhile, may your
Fourth of July be safe and restful, while doing your part to keep community
spread of COVID at bay, so we can open schools—and children and staff can be in
buildings!
For 90 minutes on Tuesday, May 12th, tap into theAlaska Teacher Placement Virtual Job Fair (VJF) with guest Kenai Peninsula Borough School District! Join us from3:30-5:00 PM AST, Tuesday. May 12, 2020.
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Virtual Job Fair Host (s): Kevin Downs, Student Support Services Program Coordinator and Sarge Truesdell, Principal, Skyview Middle School, and backup crew ready to respond to your questions and comments during the live stream event. When: Tuesday, May 12, 2020, 3:30-5:00 pm AST (7:30 – 9:00 pm EDT) Time Zone Conversion:(Click here to convert event time!) How to Participate: ATP Facebook Page
KPBSD Hosts during the Virtual Job Fair Kevin Downs has been an educator in Alaska for twenty-two years. The first four years were in Point Hope, Alaska, working with the North Slope Borough School District. Since then, he has continued his career working with the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District going on eighteen years—six as a middle school special education teacher, and twelve as a special education program coordinator at the district level. He thoroughly enjoys his time as an educator in Alaska, and finds KPBSD to be an incredible place to work, and the Kenai Peninsula itself, to be an amazing place to raise children and grow strong roots as a family.
Sarge Truesdell has worked in the KPBSD as a teacher, coach, and administrator for twenty-two years. Nine of those years were as a middle school teacher, four as an assistant principal, and he has been a middle school principal for nine years now. Sarge says the Kenai is an amazing place to work, live, raise our family, and play.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is especially interested in chatting on the ATP Facebook page with teachers, counselors, and administrators about the following openings:
Discover the spectacular Kenai Peninsula through the extensive Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District website which includes industry and education sections, real estate, our municipalities, borough, and the great outdoors.
The Facebook Live is a great opportunity to connect directly to the HR decision makers with our school district. Bring your questions, and tune into the ATP Facebook Live stream. This event will be recorded for archived viewing. KPBSD is not able to sponsor foreign teachers for H1 or J1 visas.
“I am thrilled that you are considering employment with the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District! We are located in a beautiful part of southcentral Alaska and one of the more unique and progressive districts in our great state. Our schools, ranging in size from a K-8 building of 16 to a traditional high school of 600, offer our students a strong education that prepares them for life after graduation. The 1,200 KPBSD dedicated staff members are committed to continuous improvement that embraces our strategic plan goals in academic success, organizational excellence, and community and family engagement. Should you work with us, you will be joining an exciting and successful team of top notch educators who do what it takes to help our students find success.”
–John O’Brien, Superintendent of Schools
“I will be watching live and responding to questions in the comment thread during the Facebook Live Virtual Job Fair, together with Laurie Wood, our human resources recruitment specialist. We are excited that you are interested in our school district and may potentially join our phenomenal team of educators!
Our diverse K-12 district is a leader in Alaska and at the forefront to support our teachers’ instruction—especially in this new time of remote learning. We strive, every day, to prepare our students for their future in a rigorous, relevant and responsive learning environment. Our students perform at or near the top in any standardized test required of them. They are creative thinkers and problem solvers. Our staff focus is to enhance student skills in critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity through personalized learning. This focus only happens in a culture of continuous improvement with high expectations of staff. Our school district makes a commitment to meet these high expectations through professional development for our staff, and ongoing striving to be an innovative, world class school district.
–Pegge Erkeneff, KPBSD Director of Communications, Community, and Government Relations
About the District
The Kenai Peninsula is 25,600 square miles, with 17 distinct communities, and 42 schools. You’ll find neighborhood schools, village schools, a home school program, charter schools, K-12 small schools, and a performance based school. An estimated 58,522 (2018) residents live on the Kenai Peninsula. Southcentral Alaska offers year-round outdoor adventure, mild summers, and relatively warm winters. You can live near glaciers, on salt water, rivers, or lakes. Outdoor activities are plentiful and include fishing, hunting, hiking, camping, canoeing, clamming, birding, berry picking, wildlife viewing, ice skating, sled dog mushing, and more! Art, music, native culture, sports, wildlife centers, and museums are integral parts of the diverse Kenai Peninsula communities. Local industry includes oil and gas, a vibrant medical community, commercial and sport fisheries. The climate is mild in contrast to the interior and northern Alaska. Our winters last a month or two longer than the Lower 48. December temperatures average in the mid 20’s, and our summers are brilliant, with nearly 24-hour sunlight, and a lush, green landscape.
Located south of Anchorage, nothing about the Kenai is formal or stuffy. In fact, no other destination offers such an up close and personal Alaskan experience. That’s why we are known as Alaska’s Playground! This map shows links to a detailed Google Map view of the 42 KPBSD school locations.
Facebook Live Streaming Event Format You will need a free Facebook account to actively participate in ATP’s Live Chats. Once you create that account, you can use it to log in and ask the presenters questions. Anyone can watch the video stream, and observe the chat. If you would like to ask a question or introduce yourself, it is very easy to sign into the comment or post your reactions in real time.
“The communities that I serve are incredibly diverse. Weekly, I work with Alaska Native villages, a Russian Orthodox village, a township, and an alternative school. I fly to work three days a week and drive the other two. As different as these places are they have many things in common: incredible students, dedicated staff, cultural pride, and caring communities. It can be challenging to serve a school one day a week when there is need for a full time counselor at each site, but it is a gift to be able to work where I do, and for that, I am grateful.”
–Natali Jones, KPBSD itinerant counselor, 2018 Alaska School Counselor of the Year
This makes it worthwhile and meaningful…
The most moving part of my work is when a student seeks out their own wellness and post-secondary success. Whether it is sharing a safety concern, or their dream to become the first person in their family to graduate it takes bravery to speak your truth. I know I am in the right place when I hold the belief that anything is possible.
“Ms. Jones is an excellent example of how wonderful our counselors are in KPBSD. She works hard to support the whole student and is heavily invested in all of her student’s success. This is a well-deserved award and I’m very proud of Natali and all she does for our students!” –Sean Dusek, KPBSD Superintendent of Schools
Help people hear their story and support ambitions
I became a school counselor in August 2011. My parents, who spent a great deal of their careers as teachers and passionate about working with youth said they were not surprised by my choice—in fact they had been wondering when it was going to happen. I was a peer counselor in middle school. I later pursued careers in journalism, film, and Human Resources. These all had a common thread: helping people tell their stories and supporting their ambitions. School counseling was a very natural next step.
Gratitude
This honor evokes a great deal of gratitude, first and foremost to the wonderful students and communities I serve. I have learned such an incredible amount about generosity, dedication, and cultural values. Next to each of those that support my role as school counselor including the incredible teams that make up our schools and a web of support for our students. This includes all employees classified and certified. Without each of these people, I would not be able to do my work.
Influence
School counselors provide supports with academic, career and social-emotional development. I am most impacted by those who support my role and those in our district that understand the challenges of small schools including equity of resources.
This is best!
Hands down working with students is the favorite part of my day. As an itinerant, it sometimes looks a little different. It may be online e-mail correspondence, but the best is sitting with a student and supporting their success.
Advocate
I could not do my work without the support and collaboration of my family, friends, colleagues, students, and communities. Truly wrap around services bolster our youth. Each of my schools has a level of need that could justify a full time school counselor. My hope is that school counselor professionals be viewed as an intricate part of student success and safety. I advocate and wish for a school counselor in each school in our district, state, and nation because together we can create change.
Lifelong Learner
I grew up outside of Eugene, Oregon, in the country and went to Harrisburg High School, then graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Spanish (double major) from the University of Oregon. I received Masters of Education in School Counseling from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Ms. Natali’s Counselor Corner: http://believeyoucan.kpbsd.org
“Natali is a tireless advocate for all students, but she also provides a necessary voice for the needs of those attending small schools. She opens doors for our students and helps them find post-secondary fulfillment. Ever the professional, Natali also works to inform the practice of her colleagues and better the profession as a whole.” –Principal Chris Brown, Homer Flex High School “Natali is a champion for opportunities that benefit the students she serves, and her efforts have not gone unnoticed. Her accolades are well deserved.” –Principal Conrad Woodhead, Chapman School
Unlock Potential. Find Your Password!
It is School Psychology Awareness Week, and the goal is to illuminate how identifying strength and action passwords can direct students to take steps toward positive change.
Passwords such as imagine, encourage, learn, connect, and contribute can push us forward to help students develop critical academic and social-emotional skills. These words can launch conversations about how to help students and staff unlock resources, reach potential, and develop proactive and preventive skills to thrive in school and in life.
Superintendent Sean Dusek said, “I really appreciate the efforts of our school psychologists and their dedication to our students and schools! If you get a chance this week, please help me in thanking our school psychologists for their work!”
The eleven KPBSD school psychologists serve all of our schools in different ways depending on their needs. From teaching health lessons dealing with social and emotional learning, to doing lunch groups, and providing input at the district level, we strive to unlock potential. We contribute to teams of people to support students with disabilities as well as school teams working to intervene early to prevent problems. We provide risk assessments for students struggling, as well as responding when crisis does hit our schools. We have a wide variety of expertise and can always find ways to support our students, teachers, and staff!
Clayton Holland, Director of Pupil Services said, “School psychologists are known for their role with special education evaluations, but our KPBSD School Psychologists do so much more than that. They do a tremendous amount of work to keep our students safe. Our school psychologist were key to the district development and implementation of our suicide and self-injurious behavior assessments. They help lead school responses to a tragedy or crisis that impacts our staff and students, and are leaders in our school-wide efforts with Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), and with the implementation of behavior and academic intervention process. The KPBSD school psychologists are leaders in their field and our recognized as such in the state of Alaska. We are proud to have the Alaska School Psychologist of the Year, Dr. Terese Kashi, in our ranks.”
KPBSD appreciates dedicated staff who will retire or depart this year
“This is a bittersweet time of year with our staff. It is a time to celebrate the successes and growth we’ve all experienced throughout the district. It is also a time for transition. We are losing some excellent educators and support staff, and while it is sad they are leaving the district, it is also a time to be thankful for their contributions and also wish them well on their next adventure. So, thanks and best of luck goes to all our retirees and staff moving on to other adventures. You will be missed!” – Sean Dusek, Superintendent
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District appreciates the commitment and service these employees contributed, each with fifteen or more years in the school district. Each of you has made a difference, THANK YOU!
Rosemary Bird, Kenai Middle School, Choir and Home Economics Teacher, 37 years
Teri Zopf-Schoessler, Soldotna High School, English and Drama Teacher, 33 years
Leobof Dorvall, Nikolaevsk School, ELL Tutor and Food Service Manager I-S, 32 years
Daniel Hastings, Student Nutrition Services, Districtwide Kitchen Manager, 31 years
Mo Sanders, Montessori Charter School, Administrator, 30 years
Kenneth Roser, Kenai Middle School, Physical Education and Health Teacher, 30 years
Daniel Calhoun, Homer Middle School, Math Teacher, 30 years
Linda Raemaker, Soldotna High School, Social Studies Teacher, 29 years
Bill Noomah, McNeil Canyon Elementary School, Fifth Grade Teacher, 28 years
Marilyn Dvorak, Homer Flex and West Homer Elementary, Custodian I, Food Service Cashier, 28 years
Phyllis Halstead, Kenai Alternative High School, School Secretary II, 27 years
Eric Benson, Paul Banks Elementary School, Head Custodian II, 26 years
Jean Calhoun, West Homer Elementary School, School Secretary III, 26 years
Pamela Howard, Tebughna School, School Nurse, 26 years
Catherine Patterson, Sterling Elementary School, Food Service Manager I-S, 26 years
Katie Blossom, Tustumena Elementary School, Kindergarten Teacher, 25 years
David Fischer, Kenai Middle School, Math and Science Teacher, 25 years
Michele Stenger, Kachemak-Selo, Kindergarten and First grade Teacher, 25 years
Laurie Olson, District Office, Director of Finance, 24 years
Teresa Dalebout, Soldotna Prep School, Special Education Aide, 24 years
Stuart Laurion, Soldotna High School, Special Education Aide, 23 years
Martha Shirley, Skyview Middle School, Special Education Resource Teacher, 22 years
Penny Duncan, Seward High School, Head Custodian III, 22 years
Laurie Martin, Paul Banks Elementary School, Second Grade Teacher, 20 years
Dolan “Wayne” Cowan, Kenai Middle School, Head Custodian II, 20 years
Mary Helminski, Redoubt Elementary School, School Secretary III, 20 years
Diane Ames, Nikiski North Star Elementary School, Food Service Cashier, Kitchen Assistant, 19 years
Barbara Njaa, Central Peninsula Area Schools, ELL Tutor, 18 years
Carol Boehmler, Sterling Elementary School, Third and Fourth Grade Teacher, 17 years
David Kingsland, Seward Elementary School, Administrator, 17 years
Teri Diamond, Soldotna Elementary School, Administrator, 17 years
Janet Szajkowski, Connections Home School Program, Generalist Teacher, 16 years
Kimberly Johnson, Chapman School, Second Grade Teacher, 15 years
Andrea Fischer, Kenai Middle School, Food Service Manager I-S, 15 years
Meet Jonathan Dillon, music teacher at Mountain View Elementary!
In 2016, three Alaska Arts Educator Fellowships were awarded, including a music specialist, a visual arts specialist, and a kindergarten teacher. All three were awarded to KPBSD educators!
Mr. Dillon, Mountain View Elementary music educator, furthered his study of elementary choral conducting through the Kodály Program at Seattle Pacific University in July 2016. During the program, Dillon participated in choral conducting masterclasses, performed in lab choirs directed by professional conductors, taught an elementary general music lesson, wrote a number of new learning plans, and more—all under the guidance of some of the top elementary music and conducting experts in the Pacific Northwest. Dillon used his follow-up grant to start an elementary choral music library for the Mountain View Youth Chorus, an after-school program in Kenai, Alaska.
In his final report, Dillon reflected:
“This professional development program exceeded my expectations as an opportunity to improve my craft as a conductor and artist, but also prepared me to become a better teacher in general … I’m ecstatic about putting what I’ve learned into practice!”
Mrs. Engebretsen and two of her students visit a KPBSD elementary school during Celebraille month!
Do you have a dream?
Meet Jordana Engebretsen, KPBSD teacher of the blind and visually impaired! Mrs. Engebretsen teaches KPBSD students who are blind and visually impaired, and she herself is blind. Jordana organizes community events and outreach in KPBSD schools to aid sighted people learn about braille and blindness. #Celebraille
In addition, Jordana has a vision, and serves students with disabilities through summer camps. She entered The 2017 Holman Prize for Blind Ambition competition to expand that service, and Jordana needs your vote by March 7, 2017, to progress in the competition. Winning will help her realize her dream to expand her summer camps for children with disabilities to Iceland and Peru. Meet Jordana in her 85 second video, and CLICK HERE to vote
I have always want to give to others. Yes, I am blind and mobility impaired, however, I am blessed beyond comprehension. I am alive, able to talk, to touch, to hear, and to think. I have a beautiful family, a strong faith, a job that I like and so much more! I believe what Hellen Keller said, ‘The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight but no vision’.
I entered the The 2017 Holman Prize for Blind Ambition competition, which could allow me further my dream to expand camps for children with disabilities if I’m awarded $25,000! I made a video, that needs your popular vote in order to progress to the next level of competition. Yes, I’m blind, and made a video!
I uploaded a YouTube video of my project, and it’s titled “Jordana Engebretsen: Reaching Your Full Potential No Matter Your Ability.” I want to develop camps in two new locations: Iceland and Peru. Your help is needed for me to progress, please watch the video and please give it a thumbs up.
I want to give more children and youth with disabilities the opportunity to participate in a camp experience. You can check out what I’m currently doing at our website www.cristovive.net. I have developed and led these camps for several years.
Muchas gracias,
Jordana Engebretsen
KPBSD teacher of the blind and visually impaired, TVI, MA
“The Holman Prize is not meant to save the world or congratulate someone for leaving the house. This prize will spark unanticipated accomplishments in the blindness community. You will see blind people doing things that surprise and perhaps even confuse you. These new LightHouse prizes will change perceptions about what blind people are capable of doing.” — Bryan Bashin, CEO at LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Dear Soldotna High School Stars,
In December, KPBSD “Student Voice” leaders–many from your school–put forth an invite to schools to connect in a creative gift exchange celebrating our district. The KPBSD district office leadership team opted-in to play, and we drew Soldotna High School!
May these words of wisdom which guide and motivate your district leadership team also offer you inspiration.
Happy 2017 ~ may you shine this year! Cheers!
Hire good people, give them the tools they need to do their jobs, and get out of their way.
Julie Cisco, planning and operations
“How you approach someone or something determines what you will see.” –Paula D’Arcy Pegge Erkeneff, communications
“You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage – pleasantly, smilingly, nonapologetically – to say no to other things. And the way to do that is by having a bigger yes burning inside.” –Stephen Covey
Christine Ermold, EdD, human resources
Be strong when you are weak, Be brave when you are scared, Be humble when you are victorious. Alan Fields, principal representative
Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.
Liz Hayes, finance
“Leadership is not about titles, positions, or flow charts. It is about one life influencing another.”–John C. Maxwell
Clayton Holland, pupil services
Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives. –attributed to William A. Foster
Laurie Olson, finance
“Destiny is not a matter of chance, it’s a matter of choice. It is not something to be waited for, it’s something to be achieved.” –William Jennings Bryant John Pothast, elementary and secondary education
The path toward success weaves through triumph and setback. Learning equally from each guides the way.
Eric Soderquist, information services
Educational leadership is a process of decision making that increases the likelihood that learning will occur.
Tim Vlasak, federal programs and assessments
Celebrating Pauline Mills, KPBSD 30+ year secretary, 1984 – In her words…
I started my first day of work on my birthday August 7, 1984, as a secretary for the Federal Programs, bilingual, small schools, and russian villages. Then the district added Migrant Education to our office that year with the SERCC office (Alaska’s Educational Resource Center) from Juneau. I stayed in this position for nine years before transferring to Tustumena Elementary School as a school secretary, where I am today!
My first task #innovation
When I interviewed for my first position, I saw an Apple IIe sitting on a cart! I asked the interviewer if I happened to get the job … would that be my computer? He got very excited and said, “Do you know how to use it?” I said, “Yes” and he said, “You have the job and that will be your computer!” We further discussed that I would computerize the whole office.
“You have the job and that will be your computer!”
“When I started, my first task was to create a database with the students and then put everything else on the computer. I went to the Apple Store and after talking to a salesman we decided that Filemaker would be the software I needed. The Bilingual Program’s Plan of Service was about 300 pages. They had so much white out on the document, I couldn’t fathom how the secretary before me used the typewriter and white out to make changes each year. Migrant Education was new as well, so I computerized that program and went from school to school and sometimes to other districts to help get the program started. I traveled a lot to the small schools and Russian villages either to help with office procedures or computer set up.” “After the first year … Happy to have this office computerized and organized! I love my job!”
Tustumena Elementary #golden
I remember being very nervous about applying for the school secretary position at Tustumena School because their secretary, Mrs. Jackinsky, had been there since the school first started. She was somewhat of a legend! If I got the position, I would be the second secretary the school ever had and there was going to be some pretty big shoes to fill.
It has been very nice to live and work in the community where your children were raised and went to school. It is amazing to see students return for a visit or come back with children of their own that will start attending the same school. They say, “Hey, Mrs. Mills, I can’t believe you are still here.” Makes me feel kind of old because I remember them from when they were in kindergarten.
There are so many stories and memories, etc. that I could share, but what sums it all up is the students, staff, parents, and our PTO have made this job one of the best jobs ever … that is why I stayed so long … over thirty years!
The students, staff, parents, and our PTO have made this job one of the best jobs ever … that is why I stayed so long … over thirty years!
“I am very proud of our staff that have been with our district for so many years. The lives they have made a difference with are incalculable. I truly appreciate what they have given the children of this district and hope they continue their careers with us for many more years! Thank you so much for helping our students and schools grow!” –Sean Dusek, superintendent
Celebrating Dave Daniel, KPBSD 30+ year teacher, 1986 – In his words…
“They will not care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”
“Our children are our future, literally. They come from all possible walks of life, all socioeconomic backgrounds, all types of living conditions, and with their own unique gifts and challenges. The number one thing an elementary teacher needs to remember is, ‘They will not care how much you know, until they know how much you care.’ I’ve been saying that for many, many years, and it has proven more times than I can recall in my students.”
#iAmKPBSD history
In 1986, I started teaching at William H. Seward Elementary School, the same school I had attended. Many of the same teachers were still teaching on staff! I taught 4th grade for two years, and was fortunate in that Roger Sampson was my principal and an excellent mentor. In 1988 I moved to Kenai, and began teaching at Mountain View Elementary.
Room memories:
Room 8: three years of 4th graders
Room 19 for twenty years! Three years with 6th grade; 15 years with 5th grade, and then back to 4th grade.
Portable: two and a half years with 4th grade
Room 14: my current classroom to this day!
When I think over my career in the KPBSD, I especially recall:
#Golden student…
I really appreciate those students who came to realize, I genuinely cared about them as people. Many of them come and visit me still to this day, or drop me a note now and again. This is especially rewarding, because often they are students that may have needed a firmer hand at times. Just this year I received a poignant note from one young man who is on the threshold of graduation. Evidently he was asked to consider those who had helped him through the rough patches, and he thought back to me. Then he took the time to write me a nice letter thanking me for the times I would pick him up for field trips, or go the extra mile for him in some other way. It was nice to know it had a positive and lasting impact on him.
#Golden staff…
I have been extremely blessed over the years to teach with many, many staff. Some have been memorable for their amazing abilities, dedication, love for students, wisdom, or sense of humor. I will never forget Alice Johnson and Jan Daniel’s efforts to help me loosen up and be less regimented. I was an extremely inflexible young teacher who lived by my lesson plan book and the clock. Alice made it her personal goal to cure me of this and would regularly bring her children into my class … Unannounced … to read our combined classes a story during my math lesson, or something else that made me flex. Jan on the other hand regularly hid my lunch in the staff lounge when I was not paying attention. I never knew it was her until the day she retired. Really, you just don’t expect that of such a sweet, kind, and lady. At least I didn’t, and I would accuse everyone else of doing it. She never said a word till we were celebrating her retirement.
What’s best for kids?
Then there was Jim Dawson. Jim started calling me sir the day I met him. I could not figure out why and told him to stop, because I was sure I was not that much older than him. We were the same age. Jim was the PE teacher at Mountain View, and over the years he became my friend, and the principal. He taught me it was okay to take educational risks and think outside the box, if the students would benefit. He taught me to do my best and not sweat the rest, and he was the first person I ever heard say, what’s best for kids? It shaped the way I looked at my students, and my profession. It helped me to develop my tag line on all my emails over these many years, They will not care what you know, until they know how much you care.
A forever memory … #compassion #MakeaDifference
I will never forget the terrible day our class returned from a fieldtrip, and one little girl’s mom was very late coming to pick her up. The police arrived and explained that mom had been rushing back to Kenai when she lost control of her car and was fatally injured. There was no other family in the state for this little girl, besides her young brother. I had to break the news to her, and held her for hours as she cried and cried. I made a call to a close classmate’s mom, who came and took her home. She stayed with this family until her grandparents were contacted. Our little classroom community, and a local congregation, cared for her and her grandparents until all arrangements were made. Then she and her brother went home with the grandparents. That young lady is 22 years old now, and over the years she reached out to me, and even came back once to reassure us all she was doing okay. A teacher often finds themselves doing so much more than the rest of the world even begins to understand. Dave Daniel, Mountain View Elementary, early 1990s, likely 1993
Investing my time in the KPBSD… #31years #PublicEducation
It has given me more perspective than many. I have seen so many programs, teachers, administrators, and curriculums come and go. The one common factor that has always been constant and made the biggest difference in any child’s education, is having a qualified teacher in their lives. The standards, programs, and assessments have never been as important as a community of dedicated professionals working collaboratively to help our students reach their potential. This was true 31 years ago, and it is today, as well.
Then and Now…
There was a time when the teaching reading, writing, math, science, and social studies well was good enough. Believe it or not there really was.
“I am very proud of our staff that have been with our district for so many years. The lives they have made a difference with are incalculable. I truly appreciate what they have given the children of this district and hope they continue their careers with us for many more years! Thank you so much for helping our students and schools grow!” –Sean Dusek, superintendent
