Teaching Profession Video

Teaching ‘My Friends’ Kids': An Alaska Educator With Deep Community Ties

By Catriona Ni Aolain — March 06, 2024 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

As part of Education Week’s new project, The State of Teaching, educators from around the country share the most rewarding and challenging parts of their lives as teachers.

Kiminaq Maddy Alvanna-Stimpfle is in her ninth year of teaching, and works as the kindergarten immersion teacher at Nome Elementary School in Nome, Alaska, where she is teaching students Inupiaq, an Alaska Native language. Alvanna-Stimpfle attended the school where she now teaches—a deep community connection that brings big rewards, but also some challenges. Here, she shares her experiences.

sot visual stamp words only words only for inline promo

New national data on the teaching profession, vivid reporting from classrooms, and resources to help support this essential profession.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Reflections on Evidence-Based Grading Practices: What We Learned for Next Year
Get real insights on evidence-based grading from K-12 leaders.
Content provided by Otus
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Student Well-Being Webinar
Creating Resilient Schools with a Trauma-Responsive MTSS
Join us to learn how school leaders are building a trauma-responsive MTSS to support students & improve school outcomes.
School & District Management Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: We Can’t Engage Students If They Aren’t Here: Strategies to Address the Absenteeism Conundrum
Absenteeism rates are growing fast. Join Peter DeWitt and experts to learn how to re-engage students & families.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Teaching Profession Video ‘It’s Not All Rainbows and Butterflies’: SEL in the Early Grades
A veteran teacher reflects on how the classroom (and the kids) have changed, and on what's needed to fix education.
1 min read
021525 SOT SEL BS
Sam Mallon/Education Week
Teaching Profession Team-Teaching Builds Supports in a 'Very Lonely Profession'
Collaborative teaching gains traction amid staff shortages and rising student need.
15 min read
Teachers utilize a team-teaching model developed by the Next Education Workforce Model, at Stevenson Elementary School in Mesa, Ariz., on Jan 30, 2025.
Teachers use a team-teaching model at Stevenson Elementary School in Mesa, Ariz., on Jan 30, 2025. In the model, more than one teacher at a time assumes responsibility for a group of students at each grade level, and typically class sizes are larger.
Adriana Zehbrauskas for Education Week
Teaching Profession Q&A What Top Teachers Want From Their Principals, Work-Life Balance, and More
Finalists for Teacher of the Year weigh in on how the field is changing and supports educators need.
7 min read
Illustration of teacher multitasking.
CreativaImages/Getty
Teaching Profession The National Teacher of the Year Finalists Spotlight Literacy's Power
The four 2025 Teacher of the Year finalists highlight literacy’s power to engage students and shape lifelong readers.
7 min read
The 2025 National Teacher of the Year Finalists, from left: Ashlie Crosson, Janet Damon, and Jazzmyne Townsend. Mikaela Saelua, of American Samoa, is the fourth finalist.
The 2025 National Teacher of the Year Finalists, from left: Ashlie Crosson, Janet Damon, and Jazzmyne Townsend. Mikaela Saelua, of American Samoa, is the fourth finalist.
Courtesy photos