Tag Archives: Alaskan Teachers

Alaska’s Lyda Green: Educator and State Senator

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Alaska’s Lyda Green: Educator and State Senator.

Many fine educators also make excellent politicians. An example of this is Lyda Green, a high school teacher from Alaska who has also been elected to her State Senate.

Lyda was born October 16, 1938, in Livingston, Texas. As a young girl, she attended Brazosport High School in Freeport, Texas. She graduated in 1956. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, in 1959. She earned a Slingerland Language Arts Certification from the University of Alaska, Anchorage, in 1988.

Once she completed her education, Lyda accepted a position as a teacher at West High School. She worked there from 1963 to 1964. In 1991, she accepted a position as an instructor’s assistant at the University of Alaska, Anchorage. She also served as an adjunct instructor at Matanuska Susitna Community College from 1991 to 1993. In addition, Lyda served as a member of the Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education (1991-1994). She was named by the Alaska Department of Education to serve on their special Education Regulations Task Force (1993-1994). Later she owned her own tutoring business she called The Study.

In 1994, the former educator was elected to the Alaska State Senate on the Republican ticket. She represented the Matanuska Susitna Borough until 2009 for four terms. From 2007 to 2008 she served as the Senate President. Now 81, Lyda lives in Wasilla with her husband, Curtis.

To read more about Lyda Green, see this link from the Alaska State Senate.

Bette Cato: Teacher and former member of the Alaska House of Representatives

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Bette Cato: Retired teacher and former member of the Alaska House of Representatives.

Many excellent educators also serve as competent politicians. One of these is Bette Cato, a teacher who served in the Alaska House of Representatives.

Bette Maxine Cato was born on May 9, 1924, in Odessa, Washington, District of Columbia. She was the daughter of William Dallas and Ann (Reimer) Millhorn. As a young girl, she attended Eaton Rapids High School in Eaton Rapids, Michigan. After her graduation, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education from Eastern Washington College in 1960. She also completed postgraduate coursework at Alaska Methodist University and Lawrence University.

In 1957, Bette relocated to Alaska, where she accepted a position as a teacher at Kenai High School. She worked there from 1960 to 1963. She also taught at East High School in Anchorage from 1965 to 1969, and Valdez High School from 1969 to 1979. In Valdez, her colleagues elected her president of the local division of the American Federation of Teachers.

In 1980, Bette was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives on the Democratic ticket. She served there from 1981 to 1989. While in the House, the former educator served as the Chairperson of the House Transportation Committee.

From 1943-1944, when WWII was in full swing, Bette was with United States Navy. Later she joined the American Legion, where she held the position of Deputy Vice Commander in 1955. She was also the Commander of Post 2 in Valdez from 1972-1982.  In addition, Bette was a member of Beta Sigma Phi.

Bette resigned from her seat when she was diagnosed with diverticulitis in 1989. She passed away from complications due to cancer on Jan. 18, 1996. 

To learn more about this chalkboard champion, see this link to 100 Years of Alaska’s Legislature.

 

 

Middle school teacher Danielle Riha named 2019 Alaska Teacher of the Year

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Middle school teacher Danielle Riha named 2019 Alaska Teacher of the Year.

Our nation is fortunate to have so many wonderful public school teachers. One of these is Danielle Riha, a middle school teacher in Anchorage, Alaska. Danielle teaches math, science, social studies, English, and culture to junior high school students in the Southwest Region School District. Because many of her students are Alaska natives, Danielle has developed a curriculum that emphasizes culturally responsive teaching.

Danielle started a reading program that invited Yup’ik elders into the classroom, and she helped develop a culturally relevant curriculum for the Alaska Native Cultural Charter School. She created the Morning Gathering, and implemented Culture Week. Danielle also works on the Alaska Humanities Forum Educational Advisory Board, a group that assists new teachers in their efforts to understand and connect to indigenous culture and lifestyle. In addition, she helped create Math in the Cultural Context modules which are now being used in districts all over the state of Alaska.

For her 18 years of outstanding work in the classroom, Danielle was honored as the 2019 Alaska Teacher of the Year by the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development.

Danielle was born in Detroit, Michigan, and raised in San Antonio, Texas. She originally planned to pursue a career in physical therapy. She completed coursework at North Texas University. Then she and a friend decided to work together to earn money for graduate school. Danielle sold everything she owned, took a road trip to Seattle, and found employment in Alaska’s fishing industry. While on a job in Dutch Harbor, she accepted a second job as a substitute teacher. Once she was in the classroom, Danielle was hooked on the profession, and she decided to become a full-fledged educator.

Danielle earned her Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from the University of North Texas in 1995. In addition, she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Alaska in 2000. She earned her Master’s in Education from Grand Canyon University in 2005. Currently, she is working on her Ph.D. in Education at Cappella University.

To read more about this chalkboard champion, click on this link to an article published by Danielle’s alma mater at the University of Alaska: Danielle Riha.

Ticasuk Brown: Alaska Native and remarkable educator

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Ticasuk Brown: Alaska Native and remarkable educator who advanced the cause of multicultural understanding and racial equality.

There are many examples of talented educators who have advanced the cause of multicultural understanding and racial equality. One of these is Emily Ticasuk Brown, an Alaska Native who was also an elementary school teacher, poet, and writer.

Emily Ticasuk Brown was born in 1904 in Unlakleet, Alaska. Her Inupiaq name, Ticasuk, translated into English means “where the four winds gather their treasures from all parts of the world…the greatest of which is knowledge.” Ticasuk came into the world an Alaska Native with blended heritage. Her grandfather, Sergei Ivanoff, was Russian, and her grandmother, Chikuk, was Yupik Native. Ticasuk’s parents were Stephen Ivanoff and Malquay.

As a young girl, Ticasuk attended elementary school in Shaktoolik, Alaska, a village co-founded by her father. After her graduation from high school, she earned her teaching credential in Oregon, and then she returned to Alaska where she accepted her first teaching position at an elementary school in Kotzebue. The course of her life quickly changed, however, after she witnessed the numerous health hazards in her village. To address this concern, she moved to Washington to study nursing. There she met her husband and married. Later Ticasuk and her husband returned to Alaska, where she taught for two years, until his early death. She returned to college in 1959, earning two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Alaska, and then her master’s degree in 1974. Her master’s thesis, Grandfather of Unalakleet, was republished as The Roots of Ticasuk: An Eskimo Woman’s Family Story in 1981.

As an Inpiaq educator and supporter of bi-lingual education, Ticasuk created a curriculum based on her native tongue. She also worked extensively on the creation of an encyclopedia of the Inupiaq language. She is widely recognized by Alaska Native people as a writer of articles that further understanding about Eskimo cultures and education. In addition, this talented teacher organized the Alaska Heritage Writers Association.

For her efforts, Ticasuk was given a Presidential Commission by President Richard Nixon, and she was in line to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Alaska. Unfortunately, in 1982 Ticasuk passed away before the honor could be conferred. She was 78 years old. In 2009, this talented educator and writer was inducted into the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame.