We had an interesting day today going to tell. We went with Maylie Cay (the new Jr. High Counselor), Caleb (Sr. High English), Carl White (Elementary Principal), and Rick Luthi (new Superintendent), driving about 70 miles west of Nome. We were told there wasn't much there, but when we left we would be happy we were living in Nome, which eneded up being true! It was a beautiful drive out there, with very uneven road. The man who gave our tour yesterday was giving a tour to Teller today so we were able to follow them and listen in on the information that he had when they stopped. Along the way, we saw a herd of reindeer which was cool.
Once we got to Teller, we had lunch with the teachers of the school there. The village is only about 300 people, the school about 70 students. The school is beautiful and only 4 years old. The town was very run down and poverty sturcken. The principal of the Teller school said that the road to Nome is a blessing and a burden on the town. It is nice that they are a connected villiage, but it is too easy to get alcohol into the "damp" village. The principals children are all grown and he said he would not raise his family there.
Teller is in the Bering Strait School District which we both interviewed, and were offered jobs for. The school district has gotten rid of giving out grades to students and solely focuses on standards and making "Annual Yearly Progress". They only teach to the test of what the state of Alaska tests the students on once a year. Students don't move up a grade until they pass the test for that particular grade.
The drive home was wonderful as well. We saw an even bigger herd of reindeer and stopped to fish for salmon on a river. The two other teachers and administrators that we went with were wonderful. We hope to be able to alot with them in the upcoming year.
Tomorrow we will take Maylie and Caleb to the grocery store as they don't have cars yet, and then go to dinner with them and another teacher at Airport Pizza. Hope everyone had a wonderful Saturday, and those at the lake didn't get a sunburn!
Erin
Current temp 67
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a sporadic account of three lives in rural Alaska.
4 comments:
67 degrees...it's a heat wave in Nome. We did have a great day by the water. It is a perfect MN weekend. Enjoyed a fire last night, no bugs and a beautiful moon rise. Glad to hear that your social network is expanding. Take care...Charlotte
yay for laptops and door prizes! i wish law school were that exciting. :)
sounds like a dramamine day to teller! Does someone own the reindeer? Do they use them for meat? Sounds like you were smart to get up there early to start getting settled. Are these new teachers going to have a tough time finding a car?
Thanks for sharing your wonderful pictures with all. The boys loved the reindeer picture and were wondering if you saw Santa too?
Have a great week.
Nina and the Crew
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