How the Lower Yukon School District, Anchorage School District and University of Alaska – Campus of the Interior came together for a college credit course in keeping the home fires burning.
The Anchorage School District has partnered with the Lower Yukon School District (LYSD) in enabling students from LYSD to access high quality Career and Technical Education (CTE) classes at King Tech High School. The LYSD students live in Anchorage for 8 weeks and complete their regular course work by way of distance learning from within their temporary home at Kusilvak Academy. After a full day of classwork and checking in with teachers from Scammon Bay, Marshall, Alakanuk, Hooper Bay, Nunam Iqua, Emmonak, Kotlik, Pilot Station and Mountain Village – these students board a bus in their temporary Spenard neighborhood and head over to King Tech High School, where they leap into the second part of a very long day. Students receive high level instruction within chosen vocational fields , including: Construction Electricity, Carpentry, Culinary Arts and Natural Resource Development.
The Alaska Network of Energy Education and Employment (ANEEE) connects Alaskans of all ages throughout the state, with workforce training and career pathways that lead to cleaner and lower cost energy solutions. The presence of the Kusilvak Academy students in Anchorage created an opportunity to connect members of the ANEEE network for an innovative and mutually beneficial training experience. Judd Rutledge is an adjunct instructor with the University of Alaska, Campus of the Interior, Construction Trades program. A much in demand course that is occasionally offered to rural Alaskans is small appliance repair. In rural Alaska a toaster, a can opener or heating stove that is on the fritz – too often ends up in the village landfill. A majority of the high energy costs in rural Alaska are due to the exorbitant price per gallon of heating fuel. Properly maintained Toyo heating stoves (a ubiquitous stove brand in Alaska) demonstrate one of the most fundamental lessons in efficiency for many rural Alaskans.
ANEEE facilitated the opportunity for a select group of Kusilvak students to earn a single college credit from UAF over the course of three days in completing the Toyo repair class. A skill that serves as an on-ramp toward the care and maintenance of village infrastructure that includes power plants, bulk fuel farms and water and wastewater facilities.
It is often said that Alaskans are behind the curve in “soft skills” – the ability to show up on time, organized and ready to work hard. The eleven Kusilvak students who earned a college credit this Spring sacrificed a three day weekend to take on lab and classroom work that will make a difference in their homes, communities and perhaps future careers. Nothing soft to see here.
