Akiuk School

Vickie is neither a certified nor trained music teacher and the skills that her students are learning are not on any standardized test that we pretend measures success in school. Yet I’ve just witnessed an excellent lesson taught by someone who is just a second year teacher.

I’ve arrived in Kasigluk-Akiuk in the LKSD a few days ago and will be here all next semester as a long-term special ed substitute teacher. I’ve been given a few days to get acquainted with the school and have used some of my time to observe how education is done out here on the tundra. Most all that I’ve seen here is good.

Vickie’s class was of her own creation. Rather than do a typical PE class, she convinced the principal to let her offer a music and movement class. Check out the link to the group Stomp to see this combination of percussion, rhythmic movement and fun. What middle school kid wouldn’t love to have that taught in school?

Akiuk School does more than a few things right. Pre K-3 is all Yup'ik immersion and the older kids get an hour of Yup'ik language and cultural classes each day. The little kids are exposed to some English each day and by the time the kids are in middle school, they seem comfortable in both languages.

The school also hires men to lead the cultural/language classes for the older kids. These guys are at school all day and just their presence creates a relaxed, but respectful behavioral climate at school. All of the older students are fairly well behaved. And even the little kids sit and eat their lunches quietly.