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UNIVERSITY of ALASKA
ATPAlaska Teacher Placement
A Message from theCommissioner
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Dear Educator,
Thank you for your interest in teaching in Alaska. As the largest state in the nation, Alaska provides a truly exhilarating experience that cannot be found elsewhere in the country. The rich diversity within the state allows newcomers the opportunity to engage their frontier spirit and discover true adventure within their own lives.
Alaska presents uncommon challenges and unforeseen rewards. Whether teaching in a traditional Alaska Native village, a coastal fishing town, or Anchorage, our largest city, you will become part of a vibrant community. With over 50 separate districts and myriad landscapes to choose from, Alaska offers its educators the opportunity to take part in a constructive and fruitful learning experience—their own!
In order to locate the position that is right for you, Alaska Teacher Placement will help you form networks and gain access to current employment options. Alaska also offers early career teachers the opportunity to work with experienced mentor educators as part of the Alaska Statewide Mentor Project, which provides one-on-one professional support and encouragement.
Alaska needs teachers who have a passion for teaching and will immerse themselves in their schools and communities. I truly hope you consider becoming an educator in our great state.
Sincerely, Larry LeDouxCommissioner, EED
MissionStatement
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The mission of Alaska Teacher Placement (ATP) is to provide leadership in identifying, attracting, and placing highly qualified educators for our
state. We collaborate with Alaska school districts, university leaders, and other educational entities to promote the teaching profession.
Services
• Online referral services• Job fairs and Educator Expo• Recruiting sessions• Online recruiting sessions• Professionalconsultations• Resumé posting• Educator support and resources•Technical troubleshooting
All of our services are free to educators seeking employment in Alaska’s schools. Registration with our online database and attendance at our career fairs are open to all educators. Contact us with questions or concerns.
Contact Alaska Teacher Placement
UrL alaskateacher.orgemail [email protected]
MailingAddress
PO Box 755400fairbanks, Alaska 99775-5400
Physical Address
2175 University Ave, Suite 100fairbanks, Alaska 99709
Phone 907.450.8400 fax 907.450.8401
Toll free 877.287.6644 fax 877.422.1124
Hours 8:30am – 5:00pm Monday – friday (Closed Holidays)
Visit alaskateacher.org for every-thing you need to know about
applying for a job in Alaska’s schools. The website features an interactive job bank that allows you to search for job openings, post your resumé, contact hiring officials, and research the many opportunities that await you in Alaska.
Online Services
alaskateacher.org/jobs
i-Community
In an effort to increase the online net-working between applicants and school districts, we have developed the ATP i-Community. Candidates also have the opportunity to post their questions about learning, teaching, and living in Alaska.
register as an educator candidate at
Live Chats
Throughout the school year ATP hosts Live Chat sessions. Topics for live chats vary from living in Alaska to becoming certified as an educator. Each Live Chat has a scheduled guest to guide the discussion and answer questions that arise.
Typically scheduled once or twice a month, chats are held on Friday afternoons from 3–5 pm Alaska Time.
Registered candidates will be notified by ATP via email the day before all Live Chats.
Virtual (Online) Job fairs
For educators who are unable to attend one of the four ATP-hosted job fairs in 2009, there is also the option of networking with hiring officials online.
Virtual job fairs begin in May and are hosted monthly until the start of the school year in September.
The virtual job fair allows district administrators to select candidates from a smaller pool, and educators can highlight their education and teaching experience more efficiently.
Check the Job Fair page on the ATP website for the 2009 summer virtual job fair schedule.
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Alaska educator expoApril 17–18, 2009 Hotel Captain CookAnchorage, Alaska
The Educator Expo is Alaska’s premier recruitment event for employment in education. Throughout this two-day event, educators will interview with representatives from Alaska’s urban and rural school districts. Come prepared with resumés and references.
Educators who are serious about securing a job in Alaska should attend the Educator Expo. Register for free, online or at the Captain Cook Hotel the day of the event.
Lower 48 Job fairs
The ATP Lower 48 Job Fairs provide educators who are not able to attend the Educator Expo in Alaska with a chance to interview for job openings. Because contracts will be offered, make sure to bring a list of references that can be reached on evenings and weekends.
Washington Minnesota Michigan
April 3–4, 2009
Seattle
April 5, 2009
Minneapolis
April 19, 2009
Grand rapids
To register for Alaska Teacher Placement’s job fairs, visit
then click on the Job fair tab at the top of the page.
alaskateacher.org
recruitmentevents & Job fairs
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Alaska’s DiversePublic School System
Public schools in Alaska serve more than 130,000 students and employ close to 9,000 teachers, including part-time and long-term
substitutes. However, these students and teachers are not distributed evenly across the state. Most of the population is centered in the metropolitan areas of Anchorage, Matanuska-Susitna, Fairbanks, and Juneau. The Anchorage School District, for example, is one of the 100 largest school districts in the nation, with 3,000 teachers and 50,000 students. While most students are in urban areas, the majority of Alaska’s 54 school districts are located in the “bush,” places isolated from the rest of the state and off the road system, accessible only by air, boat, or all-terrain vehicle. Of Alaska’s 503 schools, 135 schools have fewer than 50 students and 82 schools enroll 25 or fewer students.
Alaska’s schools are very diverse culturally, mixing lifelong Alaskans with newcomers from the Lower 48. In rural areas, over 80% of students are indigenous Alaskans. The term “Alaska Native” is used to describe many Native groups with different languages and traditions, including Yup’ik, Inupiaq, Aleut, Athabascan, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and others.
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In some rural communities, Alaska Native students grow up speaking their native language, and learn English as a second language. Subsistence activities such as hunting, fishing, and gathering traditional foods are important to village communities.
For people who are new to Alaska, the exposure to Alaska Native languages, cultures, values, and subsistence lifestyles makes teaching in rural Alaska an exciting and enriching experience!
for more information about Alaska Native peoples, visit
Alaska Native Knowledge Network
Alaska federation of Natives
Alaskool
ankn.uaf.edu nativefederation.org Alaskool.org
Opportunities in Special education
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If you are a special education teacher and have the desire to help students with special needs, incredible opportunities await you in Alaska:
•Itinerantpositionsthatallowyoutoexplorethestate•Pursuemaster’sworkinspecialeducation•Smallschoolsandclasssizes•Full-timeorpart-timework
The Special Educators for Alaska Project is focused on supporting, recruiting, and retaining special education teachers. The project, sponsored by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, is a collaboration between ATP, the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development Special Education Division, and the Alaska Statewide Mentor Project. One project goal is to recruit a yearly cohort of special education teachers and provide them with two years of mentoring. Another goal is to provide professional development training to instructors in the field of special education.
For those interested in pursuing special education as a focus area, including paraeducators, Alaska has many convenient options. The University of Alaska Southeast, in Juneau, offers a distance-delivered special education endorsement and a master’s degree program; and the University of Alaska Anchorage offers distance-delivered master’s programs in general special education, early childhood special education, as well as speech, language, and auditory pathology.
eed.state.ak.us/tls/sped
Alaska Statewide Mentor Project
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The Alaska Statewide Mentor Project (ASMP) is designed to support
early career teachers in their first and second year of teaching. Working in partnership with a mentor, new teachers learn strategies that influence the way they teach so that each will become the teacher whose classroom practices are ready to meet the needs of tomorrow’s children, as well as those of today.
How do mentors help?
ASMP’s mentors do more than help new teachers survive—they help them understand that excellent teachers build their practice one day at a time, from the first day they step into a classroom. Mentors encourage early career teachers to set high expectations for themselves and their students, convey a belief in the power of the classroom teacher to affect student learning, and hold themselves personally accountable for the academic success of their students.
Who gets an Alaska Statewide Mentor?
Many first- and second-year teachers hired in participating districts have the opportunity to work with an Alaska Statewide Mentor. Unlike the induction models of many professions, the mentoring relationship is not evaluative: your Alaska Statewide Mentor is a sounding board, problem solver, advocate, and even an extra set of hands.
alaskamentorproject.org
To teach in Alaska, you will need a current Alaskan teaching certificate. If you do not yet have one, it is recommended that you begin the process as
soon as possible. In Alaska, educators are certified by the Teacher Education and Certification office within the Department of Education & Early Development.
Contact eeD with your certification questions
UrL eed.state.ak.us/TeacherCertification
email [email protected]
Department of education & early DevelopmentATTN: Teacher Certification801 West 10th St. Suite 200PO Box 110500Juneau, AK 99811-0500
Phone 907.465.2831 fax 907.465.2441
Bachelor’s degree or higher, and completion of a teacher preparation program.
ORCurrent enrollment in a teacher preparation program. (Program must be completed within two (2) years of the issuance of the Initial certificate.)
NOTE: Individuals enrolled in special education programs must complete their program prior to applying for the Initial certificate.Passing scores on the Praxis I, CBEST, or WEST-B exam.Fingerprint cards submitted with application for background check.Complete application submitted with processing fees.
A one-year teaching certificate may be issued for applicants who have not yet met the testing requirement, but hold a current, valid teaching certificate in another state.
Initial Certificate requirements
reciprocity with other states
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Certification in Alaska
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Alaska Gateway Borough 907.883.5151 tok.schoolaccess.net
Aleutian region Borough 907.277.2648 aleutregion.org
Aleutians east Borough907.383.5222 aebsd.org
Anchorage Schools 907.742.4312 asdk12.org
Annette Island Schools 907.886.6332 aisd.k12.ak.us
Bering Strait Schools907.624.3611 bssd.org
Bristol Bay Borough 907.246.4225 bbbsd.net
Chatham Schools 907.788.3302 chathamsd.org
Chugach Schools 907.522.7400 chugachschools.com
Copper river Schools 907.822.3234 x223 crsd.k12.ak.us
Cordova City Schools 907.424.3265 cordovasd.org
Craig City Schools 907.826.3274 craigschools.com
Delta/Greely Schools907.895.4658 dgsd.k12.ak.us
Denali Borough 907.683.2278 dbsd.org
Dillingham City Schools 907.842.5223 dlgsd.org
fairbanks North Star Borough 907.452.2000 northstar.k12.ak.us
Galena City Schools907.656.1205 galenaalaska.org
Haines Borough Schools 907.766.2644 glacierbears.hbsd.net
Hoonah City Schools 907.945.3611 hoonahschools.org
Hydaburg City Schools 907.285.3491 hydaburg.k12.ak.us
Iditarod Area Schools 907.524.3033 x221 iditarodsd.org
Juneau Borough 907.523.1700 jsd.k12.ak.us
Kake City Schools 907.785.3741 kakeschools.com
Kashunamiut Schools 907.858.7713 chevak.schoolaccess.net
Kenai Peninsula Borough 907.714.8888 kpbsd.k12.ak.us
Ketchikan Gateway Borough907.247.2142 kgbsd.org
Klawock City Schools 907.755.2917 klawockschool.com
Kodiak Island Borough907.481.6200 kodiakschools.org
Kuspuk School District 907.675.4250 kuspuk.org
Lake and Peninsula Borough907.246.4280 lpsd.com
Lower Kuskokwim Schools907.543.4810 lksd.org
Lower Yukon Schools 907.591.2411 loweryukon.org
Mat-Su Borough 907.746.9255 matsuk12.us
Mt. edgecumbe High School907.966.3200 mehs.us
Nenana City Schools 907.832.5464 nenanasd.org
Nome City Schools 907.443.2231 nomeschools.com
North Slope Borough907.852.5311 nsbsd.org/
Northwest Arctic Borough 907.442.3472 x233 nwarctic.org
Pelican City Schools 907.735.2236 no website
Petersburg City Schools 907.772.4271 psgsd.k12.ak.us
Pribilof Schools 907.546.3337 psd-k12.org
Saint Mary’s Schools 907.438.2411 smcsd.us
Sitka Borough 907.747.8622 ssd.k12.ak.us
Skagway City Schools 907.983.2960 no website
Southeast Island Schools907.828.8254 sisd.org
Southwest region Schools907.842.5287 swrsd.org
Tanana Schools 907.366.7203 wolfpride.tanana.net
Unalaska City Schools 907.581.3151 ucsd.net
Valdez City Schools 907.835.4357 valdezcityschools.org
Wrangell Public Schools 907.874.2347 wrangellschools.org
Yakutat Schools 907.784.3317 x226 yakutatschools.org
Yukon flats Schools 907.662.2515 yukonflats.net
Yukon/Koyukuk Schools 907.374.9417 yksd.com
Yupiit Schools 907.825.3600 yupiit.org
School District Contact Information
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