Let's start at the very beginning...

So, pretty much ever since I announced to friends and family that I was leaving civilization to pursue my teaching career in the Alaskan bush, they have been vehemently requesting that I keep them updated SOMEHOW (postcard? telegram? smoke signal?) about what I am up to, 'up there'. So, TA-DAH! Here it is: my own personal blog, where I can ramble on about the important(ish) goings-on of my life and keep everyone in the loop.

I first began my search for a teaching job for this upcoming school year way back in January. It was a New Year's Resolution, of sorts, because at the time I was not coaching, getting very few calls to sub, and in general, feeling pretty downtrodden and pathetic. I knew I could not go another year living the same way - - the unpredictable, unreliable life of a substitute teacher was not agreeing with my routine-loving personality. My sister and my mom both suggested that I look into Alaska...my sister because it had been suggested by the parent of a friend of hers, and my mom because she had just finished reading Sarah Palin's book and was super inspired. So, on January second, I submitted my application to the Alaska Teacher Placement website, where it could then be accessed by every school district in the state.  Imagine my absolute surprise when only a week or two later, I got my first call from an Alaska school district! After spending the previous August and September submitting countless applications to the local school districts in SW Washington, applying for every position I felt even vaguely qualified for, and not even receiving an e-mail of rejection, to suddenly be getting calls from superintendents and HR people and to have my references telling me they had spoken to "so-and-so from ALASKA" was shocking, but in a good way! I finally felt like I was breaking through, and that I really had a chance.

I did a few over-the-phone interviews in late January/early February, and actually had one interview after which I was nearly certain I would be offered a contract, but suddenly it seemed the lines had gone dead.  I would spend days sitting here in front of this computer screen, searching job listings in Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Texas, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico...and applying to any job that fit my certifications. Of course, I also continued to keep my eye on the Alaska Teacher Placement site as well. All of my efforts towards job applications in the lower 48 states mentioned were about as fruitless as my previous attempts to find work in the Vancouver area: not one phone call or e-mail.

Feeling discouraged, I finally reached for the contact info my mom had given me a month or so ago for a relative of one of her co-workers who was a principal in Alaska. I hoped he might be a resource in giving me some advice about how best to secure a job in Alaska, in case there was something more I could do. After e-mailing Mr. Pickner, who I came to discover was the principal at Stebbins School in the Bering Strait School District, a district I had interviewed with in late January, I received a call from him which was very informative, and very encouraging. I appreciated that he didn't BS with me about the crappy retirement system I would be coming in on, or the challenges of working with a mostly native population in the bush. And the best thing he told me, after I expressed my concern at seeing the number of candidates listed on the ATP page grow exponentially day by day, was that if I REALLY wanted to teach in Alaska, I would have no trouble finding a job. Well, that made me feel better, though I still wasn't hearing anything back from any other districts at that time.

Track season started in March, my second year of coaching discus and shot at Washougal High School, and it was nice to have daily work, even if it was just an hour or two. Subbing seemed to pick up as well, and the stress of the job search lifted a bit. I was banking on the ATP job fair that would take place in Seattle in mid-April as my big chance to secure a position. A decent number of districts would be in attendance, and I would be able to interview right there and maybe even be offered a contract on the spot.

That was all well and good until I picked up a voicemail after school on a fairly normal Wednesday in the middle of March. It was from Mr. Pickner, the principal I had spoken to a month or so earlier, telling me that his district was going to offer me a position at his school for the upcoming school year and that he really hoped I would take it. I was quite shocked, and listened to the message over again a few times, to be sure I had heard correctly. When I had originally contacted Mr. Pickner, I was not stumping for a job, I was just looking for some friendly advice. To receive that message from him was the very last thing I expected! Even though I had done a phone interview with the district, having not heard from them since January, I had pretty much counted myself out of the running for their hiring pool. It was like going from zero to sixty in a second, and I was feeling slightly whip lashed!

Well, to wrap things all up, I got a hold of Mr. Pickner the next day, and was then contacted by the BSSD's HR department that weekend. I was e-mailed my contract, which I signed and faxed back a few days later. And that was that! My job search was over, and my journey to Alaska had begun.

I got to meet my new principal, Mr. Pickner (aka 'Pick') at the Seattle ATP job fair in April. After meeting him in person, and other district personnel with whom I had had contact over the phone and online, my confidence that I had made the right decision was solidified.

At this moment in time, I am focused on finishing the track season (we have a week and a half to go), getting moved out of my apartment (stuff to store, stuff to sell, stuff to send to AK), and getting out of Vancouver and on the road to our ranch property in Stites, ID where I will be spending the summer as a quasi-ranch hand for Chuck and Lana Melgin. Two months of summer, then on August 8th, I fly from Portland to Anchorage, and the adventure REALLY begins!