“You know you’re in the largest state in the union when you’re anchored down in Anchorage.” — Michelle Shocked

I am in Alaska. I. Am. In. Alaska.

I say this to myself at least twice a day. Extrapolating the possible courses of my life, personal and professional, never included this potentiality. Southern Wisconsin, Colorado, perhaps northern Virginia once again — these seemed imaginable. Prior to leaving home the phrase I used most often with friends and family (is that now a “framily”) came from Bilbo Baggins, “I’m going on an adventure.” Thus far it has proven to be nothing less. I’ll address the professional in a minute, but from a personal standpoint of growth and exploration I have eaten salmon for the first time in my life (caught and prepared by one of my teachers and one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten), I’ve made my own sushi, and oh yes, driven 3600 miles across five states, five provinces, and four time zones to a new home and new job.

A new job, that’s what brought me here. I am now the principal of Highland Tech Charter School, a small 6th through 12th grade learning environment affiliated with Anchorage School District. The name is a bit of a misnomer as the focus of the school and charter is not on technology but rather on standards-based teaching and learning through a self-paced mastery approach. It is not a time-bound system, but rather truly dedicated to students mastering concepts before proceeding through the system. Mastery means just that, mastery. Through carefully constructed, standards-aligned rubrics, teachers are able to determine what students really know and are able to do. While in a traditional system students “pass” at as low as a 60% rate, true mastery means no lower than the equivalent of “B” work. This philosophy stems from an adherence to the guiding principles of RISC, the Re-Inventing Schools Coalition.

I don’t know how any educator could argue with that philosophy. A former colleague used to say that when given the choice between going back and teaching whatever concepts students didn’t fully master the first time and moving forward in order to cover the required scope and sequence the only acceptable course of action was to do both. That was/is the conundrum of the time-bound system of learning to which over 99% of schools adhere. The personal mastery concept holds it’s own challenges, however. Students entering into the system mid-stream might be taken aback when they are not automatically moved onto the next level of standard attainment. Chronological tenth graders may still be required to master the equivalent of eighth grade standards, for example.

My earliest impressions, though, are not colored with stigma. Yes, there are many mixed age classes at Highland Tech, but there is far more acceptance and collegiality than judgment. It’s only Week One, though.

As I’ve gotten settled I’ve made a few environmental observations as well as educational ones. The architecture here could use some sprucing up. A bevy of simple two story boxes and six unit strip malls populate much of the urban environment. Within these non-descript blocks of shops one might even spy a Blockbuster video store! All but extinct in the lower 48, which Alaskans also refer to as “outside,” I have spotted no less than four Blockbuster stores in the city. Perhaps because internet bandwidth is purchased by the amount of data one intends to use monthly, streaming has not reached the level of popularity it enjoys in the contiguous. Finally, I am taken aback by the amount of smoking I have observed here. Maybe the longer, darker winter necessitates weather-proof hobbies, but it seems such a dichotomy to see plumes of cigarette smoke rising against the backdrop of majestic, snow-capped peaks.

So I will observe, absorb, and report, ex-statetriate in a fascinating personal and professional Oz.