Summer in Sitka doesn’t just bring tourists, it also brings rhubarb, kale, potatoes, carrots, and if your thumbs are green enough, garlic. The 45 students at Pacific High School in Sitka actually begin their academic year each fall gathering the harvest of the school’s edible garden program. The event is called “Stewardship Day.” KCAW reporter-at-large Ryan Morse attended last August and sent this audio postcard.

The food that students grow from the garden is used in the students’ school lunches giving them a deeper connection to the food they eat, their health, and the natural world. Students also prepared soil and planted seeds in the newly-constructed greenhouse for the upcoming school year, which was constructed with support from Sitka Conservation Society, Sitka Tribe of Alaska, and the Sitka community.

What began as a tiny garden bed on the front lawn, has blossomed into a full-fledged Farm-to-Table program for Sitka’s alternative high school.

Pacific High in Sitka this year opened an 1,100-square foot  greenhouse on school grounds, supplemented by an extensive outdoor garden.

Principal Mandy Summer outlined the program for the Sitka School Board on Wednesday (12-6-23). She said that it’s not just about growing plants.

“So the purpose of our program is really to build career, technical, and general skills in youth that they will need to thrive in the future,” said Summer. “We have classes and activities that are 100-percent based in our farm-to-table program, and these include our spring gardening, our garden construction classes, our culinary classes that happen all year long, and our school-wide stewardship days. 

“And so the garden and culinary program also support other classes and learning opportunities by providing space for other projects in science classes, math classes, and our Alaska studies class. We have elementary school field trips from Baranof come over and do potato planting projects in our garden. We’ve had Outer Coast students come and do services. And there’s a high potential for more things like this to happen, as staffing and capacity allows, particularly by offering summer programming opportunities.”

Pacific High has a small student population, relative to the other high schools in Sitka. When the first garden plot was built in 2011, there was only one class associated with it, called “Reading and Weeding.” Now there are tie-ins to classes in all academic areas, and a grant-funded garden coordinator, Andrea Fraga, who corrals over forty volunteers in summertime to support student gardeners. And Mandy Summer says that at Pacific High, all the students are gardeners.

“When we have garden stewardship days, even our most disengaged students inside the building and inside the classroom, are very engaged outside in the garden,” she said. “The work is supporting their confidence and their pride, supporting their development of a good work ethic. And the kitchen and garden spaces also allow us to make connections with traditional foods for our majority indigenous student body.”

Pacific High’s Farm-to-Table program receives significant support from the Sitka Conservation Society, which at first served as administrator for the garden coordinator job, but has since spearheaded raising over $150,000 to construct the greenhouse. Gardening might not be at the top of the list of many conservation organizations, but the Society’s Chandler O’Connell said the program is in the SCS wheelhouse.

“We strongly believe in youth development as an essential pathway for building sustainable thriving communities,” said O’Connell. “The youth and Southeast are so amazing, and they often have so many incredible opportunities thanks to the environment and communities and cultures that hold them and surround them. And they also face really significant challenges. As you all know, people experiencing poverty, violence, trauma, struggling with mental health challenges. And so programs that focus on early intervention, prevention, and also early exposure to career pathways that are rooted and values in place can make a really big difference.”

Although the structure is complete, there is still much to do to make the new greenhouse fully functional. Principal Summer said that there are outstanding grant applications for funding to supply utilities to the building, and for other equipment to heat the garden beds in winter.

The Sitka School Board was impressed with the program. Member Steve Morse said the district owed “a big thank you” to the Conservation Society for their work to build the program.

Chandler O’Connell responded that “the students are building this program themselves right now. And that’s been going on for 12 years. And that’s really where the success lies.”

Students and staff at Pacific High School have been working hard to prepare for the school’s annual plant sale this weekend. Available plants will include tomatoes, basil, kale, flowers, and more.

Principal Mandy Summer, staff gardener Andrea Fraga, and students Donny Arntzen and Raven Richards joined KCAW’s Brooke Schafer to discuss the upcoming event and new developments in the school’s gardens. Listen to the full interview here:

The plant sale will be held 2 to 4 p.m. Friday, May 5, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 6, or until sold out at the Southeast Alaska Career Center. Contact Andrea Fraga at 907-738-2183 for information.

None of the hostility seen at local school board meetings across the country recently by anti-masking groups was apparent at the November 1 meeting of the Sitka School Board.

With zero cases currently associated with the district, the tone was optimistic that mitigation measures were working, and that students were making up for time lost in the past year.

There is organized opposition to masking in Sitka, but so far the acrimony has been confined to meetings of the Sitka Assembly. In contrast, at the school board, two parents stepped forward in support of the district’s mitigation strategies. 

K.K. Prussian was one of them. 

 “I just want to say thanks to you guys, for really doing the right thing with this pandemic we’re all living through right now,” she said. ” I’m excited my kids are in school, they’re learning with a full day of school, they’ve got their activities that are keeping them engaged in relationships with their friends, and keeping them active physically and mentally.”  

The district has had as many as eight cases at one time associated with its buildings this fall, but an in-house testing program has prevented a more widespread outbreak. Superintendent Frank Hauser said that the district was staying the course, because the results spoke for themselves.

“We currently have zero, let me repeat zero COVID-19 cases associated with our buildings,” said Hauser. “We know that this could change tomorrow. But it’s good news to celebrate today. So I’m really excited about that. I know I’ve said it before, but I think it’s important to every single time to recognize our SmartStart teams of teachers, staff, parents and community members who worked on our mitigation plans. The parents who came out to our parent listening sessions at the beginning of the year, and Dr. Bruhl, and Dr. Vastola, who reviewed all of our mitigation plans. I’d also like to thank everyone for working together to support the mitigations that are keeping our schools open, and our students in school and participating fully in all the activities that they want to participate in.”

In addition to masking, the district is following the US Centers for Disease Control’s guidelines for social distancing — which recommend three feet of social distancing in schools, rather than six feet in other public spaces.

Pacific High principal Mandy Summer said this was a huge boon for her building, which now has over 40 students.

“We have kids cooking again, in the kitchen. This is a big highlight for us,” said Summer. “Gosh, for the last almost a year and a half, we’ve been putting meals into go boxes and giving them to students that way, and the kitchens a little bit too small to have students in the kitchen with past COVID restrictions. But now with the three feet of distancing, we’re able to have students back in the kitchen and cooking lunches for us.”

The other building principals reported similar benefits in their buildings. There was consensus among administrators that — despite mitigation measures — in-person school was far preferable to remote learning. 

Baranof principal Jill LeCrone said this was the case in her building, even under extraordinary circumstances.

“So the first and most exciting thing is we survived the day after Halloween, with like, five, six and seven year olds, with not too many problems,” said LeCrone. “Not too many problems.”

Blatchley principal Ben White was also focused on positive outcomes. In a reversal of the typical disciplinary phone call home from a principal, White said that he spent last week calling all the parents of eighth-graders — who were doing just fine.

 “And what occurred to me is there was like 65 phone calls home out of like 84 families,” said White. “And that’s not to say that the other kids didn’t deserve a phone call. But the kids that we try to call home and other kids almost fall under the radar, you know, they’re they’re not flamboyant. They’re not demanding of time. They’re just kids who are always doing what they should. And it occurred to me that that’s more than 75% of the class. And it’s just great to be in a place where we can do that sort of thing and call the families and they appreciate it. And I always tell the families ‘Man, I appreciate it more than you trust me. Thanks for allowing me to make this call.'”

The Sitka School Board wrapped up its November 1 meeting in executive session, to discuss negotiations with the Sitka Education Association, which represents the district’s certified teachers. The unusual Monday meeting was due to scheduled travel this week by several board members to the annual conference of Alaska Association of School Boards in Anchorage.

Pacific High’s graduates pose in the sunshine before the ceremony. The school’s commencement exercises are notable for the involvement of parents, and a deep sense of accomplishment from students who never expected to make it this far. (Pictured from left to right) Madison Sprague, David Brady, John McKenzie, Itzel Nunez, and Hanna Swanson. (KCAW photo/Erin Slomski-Pritz)

Like other high schools across the country this time of year, Sitka’s alternative school, Pacific High, recently said goodbye to five seniors in a ceremony unlike your typical commencement. Each year, Pacific High seniors are honored in a unique and personalized ceremony that ranges from the humorous to the deeply personal.

Downloadable audio.

Sheet’ká Ḵwáan Naa Kahídi is packed with families, friends, and teachers, as the five graduating seniors walk onto the stage, each taking a slow step in time with the music.

“True courage is facing life without flinching,” said Sitka’s co-assistant superintendent, Phil Burdick in his commencement address. “The courage of the everyday, something these graduates and you families have shown consistently, or else you wouldn’t be here right now.”

Mandy Summer has served as principal of Pacific High School for the last three years. She noted that this graduation is about more than just receiving an academic diploma. It’s a recognition of the students, themselves — the unique challenges they’ve faced and the lessons required of them to evolve personally, socially, and emotionally.

“They have more than just academic knowledge and skills,” Summer said. “They have just spent a lot of time working on themselves as a person and learning about different ways to communicate and overcome challenges and how to reflect upon the choices that get placed in front of them. And so it’s just so much more than you earned 20 credits, and now you get to move on to whatever that place is.”

And as families and staff took the stage to honor students through teary speeches, it became clear that the path that led each student to this day was varied, and that the courage required to succeed took many forms. For graduate John McKenzie, it meant overcoming childhood bullying.

In this graduation parents participate. Here’s Mackenzie’s mother:

“And I like to think that when we are young and growing up into the world, that we are faced with challenges that make us into greater people, better people. And John has become a better person because of the challenges he’s faced.”

Graduate Itzel Nunez was honored, along with the other graduates, in music. The Haa Toow’u Litseen Drum Group performed a set as part of the ceremony. Nunez’s mother – also a member of Haa Toow’u Litseen — wrote and performed a song for her daughter.

(Drumming, song)

“They knew I wanted this, but I wasn’t in the mental state,” said a tearful Itzel Nunez. “And they just helped me through everything. They helped me get help. They kept pushing me. That’s all that they could do. That’s why I’m here. Because they never gave up on me.”

The gratitude Nunez feels towards her teachers and family is shared by all the graduates.
Ultimately, the ceremony is a recognition that courage is not something you experience alone.

Commencement speaker Phil Burdick closed with this point: “Your courage anchors me to this plays and tells me that we are moving forward together, that I am in this stony world with you,” he said, holding back tears.

Diplomas in hand, David Brady, John McKenzie, Itzel Nunez, Madison Sprague, and Hanna Swanson were celebrated as the 2018 graduates of Pacific High School. And on the evening of graduation, there was a distinct feeling of moving forward together and with courage.

Michael Ihde performs a duet with his sister Taylor, on ukulele, in honor of his graduation. (Emily Kwong/KCAW photo)

Pacific High graduated the Class of 2017 last night (05-18-17), as family and friends took to the stage at Sheet’ká Ḵwáan Naa Kahídi to speak glowingly of the seniors. Teachers offered “uber kudos” to each student and singled out a unique trait that carried them to this moment: Michael Ihde for “perseverance,” Caleb Meyer for “respect,” Kristopher Nance for “honesty,” and Vanna Scarbrough for “acceptance.” The Class of 2017 includes Ray Ozawa.

Vanna Scarbrough was raised by her grandmother, who joined her on stage to express her pride. (Emily Kwong/KCAW photo)

The emotional ceremony included musical performances, parent tributes, and the conferring of diplomas by PHS Principal  Mandy Summer, Sitka Superintendent Mary Wegner, and the Sitka School Board. The mission of the alternative high school is to “developing lifelong learners with strong community connections who have a desire, purpose, and ability to learn and succeed in life.”

2017 Pacific High Graduation (Slide Show)

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The meal consisted of king salmon with dill sauce, zucchini-carrot fritters, and local greens with huckleberry dressing. (Emily Russell/KCAW Photo)

Agriculture has never been a strong suit for rainy Southeast Alaska, so a farm-to-table event might not sound too exciting, but throw in some locally-caught king salmon, and suddenly you’ve got gourmet potential.

Sitka’s Pacific High School celebrated the end of October, which is National Farm to School month, with a salmon-studded feast.

Downloadable audio.

When I was in home ec class growing up we blended smoothies from frozen berries and baked cakes with store-bought ingredients.

That’s not the case at Pacific High. Students from Sitka’s alternative school cook with locally-grown vegetables, hand-picked berries, and, of course, fresh-caught salmon.

“I get the phone call, ‘Are you ready for fish?’ And I say, ‘Yes, we’re ready for fish. We’re always ready for fish,” explains Mandy Summer. 

Summer helps distribute seafood donated through Sitka’s Fish to School program. When she’s not answering phone calls about fish shipments, Summer serves as Pacific High’s principal. The school gets about 10 pounds of fish each week.

“We have salmon once and then we’ll have some kind of whitefish, either halibut or rockfish that we also serve,” Summer says.

Peter Vu cooked up king salmon for the school lunch at Pacific High School. (Emily Russell/KCAW Photo)

Peter Vu is the Americorps volunteer at Pacific High, where he teaches a cooking class once a week. Vu is from Texas and worked in restaurants throughout college, but, he says, the ingredients here make his work at Pacific High unique.

“Everything is so fresh and there’s such a big emphasis on making creative meals, so it’s been fun working with the kids,” explains Vu.

Vu worked with students to create today’s meal. There’s a crispy zucchini-carrot fritter, king salmon with cajun seasoning

“And it’s garnished with a homemade dill sauce,” explains Vu. “We’re also serving a salad that has zucchini, lettuce, carrots, and what are the flowers?” Vu asks.

“Nasturtiums,” answers Amy Kane.

Kane stopped by to help serve up today’s meal. She also has restaurant experience, being the former owner of Sitka’s Larkspur Cafe, where she was able to incorporate some local seafood, though she says it’s harder to do for hundreds of diners.

Pacific High School only has 36 students, so it’s easier to harvest enough huckleberries to make the salad dressing that’s drizzled on today’s greens.

“This huckleberry looks amazing,” remarks Vu.

“Isn’t it pretty?” Kane says. “It’s an easy way to get color.”

Americorps volunteer Peter Vu and local chef Amy Kane serve up local greens with huckleberry dressing. (Emily Russell/KCAW Photo)

The dressing is a deep maroon color. Everything on the plate looks ten times brighter than any beige school meal from your childhood. It even looks better than most meals served up in high-end restaurants, especially the salmon.

One student jokes about how, since it is farm to school month, the salmon should be much paler on the palate.

“It’s farm to school. Why is it not farmed fish?” a student asks.

The salmon, of course, is wild, while everything in the salad is from St. Peter’s Farm, a community garden in Sitka. That’s also where the zucchini and carrots came from for the fritter, which are mixed in together with local eggs and Alaskan barley.

It’s a beautiful meal, and guilt-free, too. But the real test of a tasty meal? It’s the students.

“It was delicious,” confirms Philip Barker, whose plate is clean.

But unlike most diners in high-end restaurants, he doesn’t linger over the meal. After all, he’s got class to get back to.

Mandy Summer (l.) and Lyle Sparrowgrove have decades of combined experience in the classroom. (KCAW photo/Robert Woolsey)

Many students arriving at school today in Sitka (8-27-15) were greeted by familiar faces — but in new roles. Both of Sitka’s high schools have new principals, both of whom have spent years in the classroom.

Downloadable audio.

Here’s the complete picture of the administrative team in the Sitka School District this year: Superintendent Mary Wegner is back for her second year, while former Pacific High co-principals Sarah Ferrency and Phil Burdick now share the role of assistant superintendent. Sondra Lundvick will remain as assistant principal of Sitka High, working with Lyle Sparrowgrove. Lindsay Jorgenson is the new Activities Director. Ben White is continuing as principal of Blatchley Middle School; he’ll be assisted by Laura Rodgers, who’s moving to Sitka from New Hampshire. Casey Demmert is now the most-senior principal in the district; he’ll continue at Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary. Mark Lee will remain as principal of Baranof Elementary School. Pacific High will be headed by Mandy Summer, and Summer’s old job, as director of Community Schools, will be handled by district business manager Cassee Olin, until Community Schools is turned over to a private contractor in October.

She moved from Oregon to join Sitka’s alternative high school, teaching English and Health for four years. Last year, she jumped into administration, performing double-duty as assistant principal of Blatchley Middle School and director of Community Schools.

Mandy Summer says returning to Pacific High is a homecoming.

“The way that we see education, and the way that we deliver education here at Pacific High is very intrinsic to my being — to how I’ve always taught and to how I’ve always learned.”

Enrollment at Pacific High is limited to around 40 students. Some are there because they haven’t had success in traditional public schools; others seek out the school’s alternative approach to education. Summer says her background at Pacific High taught her to look at the whole student.

“There were times, as a teacher, where I recognized that it’s much more important to focus on a student’s needs than — socially or behaviorally what they need in their life — than on writing that essay or passing that test. And that’s really what Pacific High is all about.”

Summer is replacing two people. Her predecessors, Phil Burdick and Sarah Ferrency, job-shared for five years as co-principals at Pacific High before moving into district administration. Summer says that although she’s only one person, she doesn’t feel like a solo act. She describes the school as a collaboration among all staff, administration — and even students.

If anything, Summer would like to see students step outside themselves even more.

“You know, one thing that’s always been an important as a teacher and as just a part of my life is providing service. I think that’s one way to get at the hearts of students. To get at their heads, we get at their hearts. I have seen some students really blossom when they have been a part of something much bigger than themselves.”

But not every teacher is eager to move into the top job — at least that was the case this year at Sitka High.

“I originally said no.”

Lyle Sparrowgrove will take over as principal at Sitka’s traditional high school. But he’s not as reluctant as he sounds. He reconsidered, after thinking about the students, families, and staff that make a school.

“The other part is I’m not doing it alone, I’m doing it with all those people together, attempting to make the high school principal’s position sustainable.”

Sparrowgrove understands sustainability. He taught Math for 13 years at Blatchley, beginning in 1987, before becoming assistant principal and activities director at the high school in 2000. After four years in that job, Sparrowgrove returned to the Math classroom until his retirement in 2009.

It’s not a natural transition to move from career teacher to administrator, but Sparrowgrove understands that “it all happens in the classroom.” He knows firsthand that good teaching can turn a student’s life around.

“I was not a good math student. I got excited when I had a quality instructor at the college level. I wanted the kids to feel the passion and exuberance I felt about learning math, because I’m sure there’s other things they would rather have been doing.”

Sparrowgrove describes the last six years as “quasi-retirement.” He’s been active as a consultant, working with the district to develop new Math curriculum across all grade levels. But, he says the social aspect of school is very important, and he misses that.

And he also thinks he’s got some ideas to offer, as schools evolve along with the needs of students.

“Education has been very good to me over the years. And I feel like, to be able to continue to have education improve and grow we need to give back to it. And this is one of those ways.”

Lyle Sparrowgrove will replace Karen Macklin,who stepped in last year to cover the resignation of former principal PJ Ford-Slack.

The first day of school in Sitka is Thursday, August 27.

Sixth graders board Bus B after making it through their first day at Blatchley Middle School. (KCAW photo/Rachel Waldholz)

Today (Wednesday, 8-27-14), was the first day of school for most Sitka students. At Blatchley Middle School, today was dedicated to incoming sixth-graders. Seventh- and eighth-graders will start school on Thursday.

KCAW’s Rachel Waldholz stopped by at the end of the day, just as the buses were loading, to hear what the newly minted Blatchley students had to say about their first day of school:

Today was also the first day of school for first-graders at Baranof Elementary School and second- through fifth-graders at Keet Gooshi Heen, along with all grades at Sitka High School.

Kindergartners will start school on September 3rd and 4th. And Pacific High School students start school on Friday, August 29. Mount Edgecumbe High School started classes today (Wednesday, 9-27-14).
Several administrators are also starting new jobs this year. Sitka Schools Superintendent Mary Wegner and Assistant Superintendent Robin Taylor are starting their first school years in their new positions. Mark Lee is starting his first year as principal at Baranof Elementary School. And Blatchley Middle School has a new assistant principal, Mandy Summer.