Teacher Openings on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska

[Jc2020]

If I was a teacher I’d be all over this opportunity like this. Does this teaching position have on the job training lol.

 

[rtraverdavis]

Fortunately most people only know Alaska by its reputation; Eskimos, igloos and polar bears. Southeast Alaska is just a blank spot on the map as far as most people are concerned.

Heck, we get Amazon Prime free shipping right to the dock, and haven't seen a polar bear for a long time!

Funny thing is we’d been to SE Alaska the year before and she loved it. But at that time, the idea of actually living that “remote” with that much rain and winter darkness was an absolute no-go for her. (She grew up in San Diego and had a completely skewed idea of what weather is.) Things have changed though, but they haven’t changed to Alaska Level.

 

[JLS]

Went home and told my wife and before I could even finish the first sentence she stuck her hand up and said, “Alaska? No F-ing way.”

First Hem, now you. My brothers have forsaken me......

@MTLabrador, you gonna help a brother out here?

 

[rtraverdavis]

First Hem, now you. My brothers have forsaken me......

@MTLabrador, you gonna help a brother out here?

Ha. I just brought it up again after reading this thread. She was like:

 

[MTLabrador]

First Hem, now you. My brothers have forsaken me......

@MTLabrador, you gonna help a brother out here?

Doesn’t sound half bad... But at least I’ll be strategically located to pack elk for you this fall.

 

[Big Fin]

I asked Mrs. Fin who saved Thorne Bay in my Zillow feed. She smiled and said, "Me. I thought you liked it there." Now she's on a full blown search, as if she has money ratted away that I don't know about and she can afford a POW fish camp.

I have family that lives in Haines. I've spent a lot of time there. I spent a summer commercial fishing in SE AK. If I were to live in that part of the world, something very tempting if I was not so staked down here, it would be the north or east side of POW or Petersburg.

Whoever is reading this thread and considering it, I would suggest you go there and see it for yourself. You might end up moving to one of the most amazing landscapes in our 50 states.

 

[Joe Hulburt]

I'll be trying to convince my wife that she should apply in the morning. We are planning on buying a sailboat and heading that way when we retire in a couple years but if she got a job up there I could retire now! I like the sound of this idea a lot.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I've lived and worked on three continents. I had my own kids go to IB World schools in Kuwait and Mongolia. It would be hard to find a better place to raise kids than Prince of Wales Island.

Whale Pass School was the #7 school in the state out of over 200 similar school; small, pre-K through 12th grade.

My mom is partially retired, taught 30 in CO and then did several years in Slovakia and Belarus...

I read the title of the thread and immediately thought...

“Mom, so remember how you said you were bored...”

“Also, what size boots do you wear again, I’m going to buy you some ...why? Um... errr... remember how you said you wanted to go on a hunt with me... well um... a sheep hunt sounds like a great idea right? No ma... I don’t think that’s crazy... mmmmhmmm.... no I absolutely think you are in good enough shape for a sheep hunt.”

 

[Hunting Wife]

I’ve never been so tempted to change careers.

My cousin moved up to interior to teach in some village schools for a few years in exchange for the state paying off her student loans. I didn’t think she’d like it, but she’s still up there. She did trade interior for civilization though.

 

[Hem]

When I finished my MAT in 2010, there were basically no teaching jobs in any of the districts near us. What few jobs there were all were going to teachers with 10+ years experience, not to dummy new grads like me. I had a couple panel interviews with like eight other applicants that were absolutely demoralizing. Anyway, the only place at that time that was hiring teachers—actively recruiting them actually—was Alaska.

After talking with a recruiter at a job fair I was ready sign the papers and pack up immediately. Went home and told my wife and before I could even finish the first sentence she stuck her hand up and said, “Alaska? No F-ing way.”

I spent a summer in Alaska with a buddy. Shared a two man tent. Makes a man understand being wet.
Our family alternates years to Baja, usually planning about now, but this year vaccinations come first. So certain members are getting cranky. The second part of the " no way in hell" comment ...." cold,wet, dark, buggy, isolated".

 

[Djfan]

Mosquitoes?

 

[JLS]

Mosquitoes?

And No-seeums and White Socks.

 

[Southern Elk]

My wife is in healthcare and could find a high paying job in Alaska in a heartbeat. When I’ve mention it, she cuts me off and says “I moved to Montana for you. I’m not moving any farther from home!”

I’ll just be satisfied with being in Montana.

 

[AndyPOW]

I’ve never been so tempted to change careers.

My cousin moved up to interior to teach in some village schools for a few years in exchange for the state paying off her student loans. I didn’t think she’d like it, but she’s still up there. She did trade interior for civilization though.

My wife and I taught in a small village on the Kuskokwim for two years.Southeast is far, far different than the interior. Much less winter, far more to do, regular small town America to a large extent. We have all manner of fruit trees, berry bushes, grow a lot of vegetables, keep bees.

 

[AndyPOW]

And No-seeums and White Socks.

Mosquitoes?

Not so much. We have 2.5 acres on the ocean, and don't see any mosquitos or white socks. We can get some no-seeums down on the beach in the summer if it is a low tide at sunset. Now, up on the alpine in August the bugs might chase you off the mountain if you don't go prepared.

 

[AndyPOW]

Heck, I forgot to mention the waterfowl hunting is top-notch from September to December. Plus really good trout fishing including sea run trout. Most people don't mess with either one.

I've been very busy building infrastructure on the homestead, but I'm getting to the point where I'll be doing all of the above this year.

This is the weather for the next 10 days, which is typical winter weather. It can get colder, like in the teens at night, for a few weeks. That didn't happen this winter.

 

[JLS]

Not so much. We have 2.5 acres on the ocean, and don't see any mosquitos or white socks. We can get some no-seeums down on the beach in the summer if it is a low tide at sunset. Now, up on the alpine in August the bugs might chase you off the mountain if you don't go prepared.

Really? Man, one of the worst bug days I can ever remember was south of Petersburg on a tidal creek. Also a few days out by Rowan Bay that were pretty bad. I wonder what’s different in that short distance?

 

[44hunter45]

Just kidding. My crab and shrimp traps go out in front of my house if I need some of either. There is a 6 month deer season (limit 4 bucks), bear season is September 1 to the following June 30 (limit 2). Elk are across Clarence Strait on Etolin (draw hunt). Moose are 50 miles away by boat on Kuiu (OTC tag), all the salmon are either in the streams or the salt, steelhead start showing up in a couple of weeks and go through May, halibut, lingcod, rockfish, flounder, all the clams you want for the digging, wolf. People are by and large quite conservative with a "live and let live" outlook on life.

The deer hunting can be any combination of beach hunts, low country/muskeg and making the effort to get up to the alpine. You could explore POW and the surrounding islands and water the rest of your life and not get to it all.

It is growing zone 7b, not very cold winters, and not very warm summers. Did I mention it rains? This was the first year it did not get cold enough to freeze the bay which is awesome since my boys and I commute two miles to the town dock every day to get to school.

Teachers have a tremendous amount of autonomy, which can be intimidating. I bring the middle school and high school kids on what we call Subsistence Week. We camp, hunt, set halibut skates, shrimp pots, go fishing. Parents join us as much as they can to hunt and cook amazing food at camp.

Whale Pass school runs an annual fund raiser which is a Gun Calendar raffle. We sell 100 calendars at $200 each, and have an awesome list of rifles. We send kids to archery Nationals every year. We are starting the national marksmanship program. We have a four day school week; three days of academics, and a day of electives. My afternoon elective this year is Outdoor and Subsistence Skills.View attachment 175813

want. PM me

 

[LCH]

I got ate up pretty bad on that island while I was skinning/chunking out my bear. He died down in a wet ravine with no breeze, I was hot with my sleeves rolled up, and evidently too preoccupied to fight the hundreds of mosquito bites I received.

Awesome place though, and the weather was actually beautiful nearly the entire time I was there!

 

[TN2shot07]

What an awesome opportunity! My other half finished her masters in sped a couple years ago, I’m gonna have to work on my sales pitch... The fact that you can do that calendar as a school fundraiser tells me everything I need to know!