Tebughna School students bundled up to wade the frosty streams of Tyonek in exploration of baby salmon habitat. Just outside their school building, juvenile salmon flourish in small streams and ponds before heading out to the saltwater to hopefully later return as big, delicious table fare. In a partnership with Project GRAD Kenai Peninsula (PGKP) and the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (KBNERR), Tebughna students were coached to sample salmon and trout using electrofishing, and then sample creek bottoms with kick nets to see what those baby salmon might be eating.
KBNERR researcher Jacob Argueta and KBNERR educator Dana Nelson visited with Tebughna’s K-12 students to provide the equipment and instruction. Following a morning in the field, collected samples were brought back to the school and classrooms were converted to wet labs. Students, staff, and community members were fascinated to discover that the gravel and leaf litter of the creek bottom teemed with thousands of invertebrates- from larval flies to earth worms. Using special magnifying glasses, the captivated students learned how to use dichotomous keys to identify the various organisms collected from the creek a stone’s throw from their classroom.
As part of a research project exploring groundwater recharge, KBNERR is engaging villages in KPBSD to identify how communities value groundwater. Often times, the conversation quickly leads to healthy salmon habitat. Over the course of KBNERR’s two-day visit there were lively discussions regarding how groundwater cycles valuable nutrients into salmon streams.
In addition to introducing the students to research methods and a great field trip, the visit from KBNERR also served as a follow-up to a trip four Tebughna High School students made to Homer. Sharon Jones, Reka Smoke, Alicia Smoke, and Dulcinea Moon had the opportunity to join KBNERR to sample salmon habitat and peatlands near Stariski Creek just north of Anchor Point. Back at Tyonek, the four students presented on their experience and helped lead the KBNERR team in the field with Tebughna’s younger students.
A big thanks is warranted for the KBNERR staff, Native Village of Tyonek, and Tebughna’s staff for coordinating such a high-quality fieldtrip experience delivered to Tebughna School. Fortunately, KBNERR and Tebughna’s relationship will not end here. Future visits and engagement is in the works. Whether an interest in natural resource management or a more resilient commercial fisherman, PGKP’s partnership with KBNERR is providing the stepping-stones from classroom student to community provider.
Thank you to Kenny Daher, Project GRAD Kenai Peninsula, for contributing this story!
Tag: Project GRAD Kenai Peninsula
Creativity, assessment, and learning in small school classrooms
Creativity, Assessment, and Learning in a Small School Classrooms
August 3 – 4, 2017
Project GRAD Kenai Peninsula (PGKP) organized and partnered with KPBSD to present a two-day professional development training and conference at Land’s End Resort on August 3-4, 2017.
Due to travel costs and logistics, it is difficult for teachers in these rural schools to attend national conferences where progressive ideas and productive networking can advance instructional practice and provide relevant insights and strategies. Because PGKP is committed to providing quality instructional and academic support to the seven K-12 schools it serves, Jane Beck, Executive Director, began exploring the possibility of bringing educational leaders to Homer to speak directly with teachers, principals, and district administrators.
In July 2016, Myron Dueck, author of Grading Smarter Not Harder and Dave Burgess, author of Teach Like a Pirate agreed to visit Alaska to share ideas for accurate assessment, feedback, and creativity in the classroom. Fifty-seven participants gathered for two days of insights and laughter for new ideas to engage students in learning. Teachers left feeling invigorated and inspired to develop rapport with students, tap into their passions, step out of the traditional learning in rows, and create classrooms where students are excited about their education and who receive valuable feedback on what they understand, know, and can do. Funding was provided by a US Dept. of Education Alaska Native Education grant and US Dept. of Education GEAR UP grant as well as a partnership with KPBSD.
Story contributed by Jane Beck
Project GRAD Mike Petersen receives Golden Apple award
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District
Golden Apple Award | June 2, 2014
Mike Petersen, Community Member
Mike Petersen’s contribution to Kenai Peninsula Borough School District students started in 2004, when he moved from Saipan International School to Homer, Alaska. A math and literacy coach with Project GRAD Kenai, he began by serving our schools in Nanwalek and Port Graham.
Mike was interviewed and hired over the Internet, and flew directly from his former position to Houston, Texas, to meet his new Project GRAD team and receive training. Rita Pfenninger, a former Project Grad coach, recalls that when the Kenai team waited in the hotel lobby to meet Mike, they watched the door and wondered if he would arrive suited and formal like many of the gentlemen entering the lobby. When Mike arrived they knew immediately that he would fit in well with the team due to his open, friendly, and casual manner.
Working as a Project GRAD Coach from 2004 – 2011, in order to assist staff to determine school needs, Mike provided his schools, and Project GRAD, with detailed data reports. According to Mike Sellers, former principal at Nanwalek School, “Mike’s strong suit is his ability to give you exactly the information you need to make good decisions. Mike could provide any data you needed.” Jamie Meyers, former Project GRAD coach reports, “Mike is a data person, always crunching numbers to get a better picture.”
In addition to data collection, Mike provided school staff with professional development based on best practices; he actively modeled lessons and consistently provided instructional support. As a coach, each week he flew to Nanwalek and Port Graham where the chances of being weathered in can be a very real problem. Mike was never afraid of what the weather might do. Once in the village he didn’t watch the weather, but focused on the job. He always arrived with a back pack ready to extend his stay if necessary.
Project GRAD hosts an annual summer institute for two weeks in June. The Institute provides Project GRAD students an opportunity to work together in teams and earn high school credit. From the beginning, Mike has been instrumental in both organizing and facilitating summer institutes. Mike facilitates courses such as orienteering and Kayak or Yurt construction, and students put to use math concepts such as measurement or angles to complete projects.
In 2011, Mike moved from his coaching position to become the Project GRAD Kenai Executive Director. In this position Mike provides professional development to his team of coaches, works closely with the Project GRAD board, and continues to build strong community support for the Project GRAD program. He works collaboratively with KPBSD directors, administrators, and staff to continue the development of support systems to ensure student success for all KPBSD students.
Mike consistently provides strong, respectful leadership to his team and to Project GRAD schools located in Nanwalek, Ninilchik, Nikolaevsk, Port Graham, Razdolna, Tebughna, and Voznesenka. He is well respected among his peers and the students with whom he works. He takes to heart the Project GRAD goal that “Graduation really achieves dreams.”
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education is proud to recognize Mike Petersen for his dedication to the students of the school district, past, present, and future.
Link
Project GRAD Kenai Peninsula on Facebook
Project GRAD website
Making News: Project GRAD Kenai Peninsula
The US Department of Education awards Project GRAD Kenai Peninsula a 128,000 grant! I posted a news release–along with others–on the KPBSD Media and Public Relationships Communications page. I’m excited about this grant–Project GRAD empowers and inspires low income students students to obtain a high school diploma, and achieve success in post-secondary education.
The $128,000 Gear Up Grant (GU) length is for six years, and requires a cohort model which begins at grade 2 and continues through grade 8. KPBSD schools in Nanwalek, Port Graham, Razdolna, Tebughna, and Voznesenka will follow this cohort through the six years.
Dream, dare, do! Thank you to KPBSD, the US Department of Education, and Project GRAD Kenai Peninsula.
www.KPBSD.org
KPBSD Communications
KPBSD Media and Public Relationships