Metlakatla's first ever summer school "surprisingly wonderful"

The coronavirus pandemic forced schools across Alaska into unprecedented situations. Yet for the Annette Island School District, pandemic recovery has led to creating learning opportunities never before offered in the district.

This month the school district offered summer school for the first time in its history.

“There was this premise that you cannot do summer school in Metlakatla because the teachers want off the island and the students have other things to do,” said Mary Donaldson, Richard Johnson Elementary School principal and special education director for AISD. “This proves both of those wrong because number 1, the support of the district – they paid for it which was awesome. Number 2 – the staff that were dedicated to the kids, and 3 – the children that showed up to learn.”

Metlakatla is about 20 miles south of Ketchikan and is the only Indian Reserve in Alaska. The school district has one elementary, one middle and one high school. Donaldson says roughly one fourth of the students have special needs.

COVID-relief funds provided the fiscal resources to create the summer learning program, yet the program was planned with many unknowns. First, the district did not know how many students would participate. Then there were the logistical issues that needed solving such as how many people were needed to help feed children and developing a new bus route. Donaldson says one of the hardest parts was overcoming misconceptions some people in the community held about what summer school involved.

“Once it spread that this wasn’t sit inside with the windows closed – just be boring – once they discovered that it was a really fun time, the impetus of attendance was not a problem,” Donaldson said.

Ultimately around 120 students – about half of the student population – attended summer school. Twenty-two teachers and paraprofessionals worked with the students.

At the beginning of the month, the school district held a data RTI retreat for educators to help inform instruction during summer school.

“We kind of had our own summer school for those four days that first week of June that was just an incredible learning experience with new knowledge looking at data form the year, looking at our materials, looking at our children and planning for summer school and then going into next year,” Donaldson said. “We really stumbled onto a model that even after a year of COVID, the teachers just flourished in that opportunity to learn together in community format.”

 For students, the experience included a culture camp in the afternoons that intertwined traditional Tsimshian practices with literacy. Grade level teachers worked to incorporate the environment and science by getting out of the classroom.

“The hope is that some of what the teachers are learning about outdoor education will apply during the school year,” Donaldson said. “It’s been surprisingly wonderful, and that’s why I’m so excited about it going into next year.”