Anchorage Daily News

PALMER -- George Troxel came to Alaska 25 years ago in search of adventure. He says he and his wife, Joen, both teachers in Missoula, Mont., at the time, "were looking for something different."

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George Troxel

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They found it in Teller, a village on the Bering Sea, where Joen taught and George served three years as principal of James Isabell School.

Missoula "had the University of Montana, so it was a college town. It had all sorts of amenities available. But when we got to Teller there was running salt water but no running fresh water. As principal of the school I actually went out to chop ice to melt for the school lunch program," Troxel said.

The Troxels moved next to Galena and then, in 1990, to Wasilla. Though life in the Valley is not as rugged as village life, the couple found adventure here as well, Joen as a teacher at Wasilla's Tanaina Elementary School -- a post she's held for 17 years -- and George in a string of principal positions and, for the past five years, as assistant superintendent of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District.

They've watched their children -- Jessica, 25, and Katie, 16 -- grow here, and they've watched the community grow as well.

Troxel, who loves fly fishing and working with his two Labradors, embarked on a new adventure in July when he became superintendent of Mat-Su schools. He replaced Bob Doyle, who retired in June.

The job so far has left little time for fishing, but in a recent interview Troxel said he's enjoying it all the same.

Q. So have you settled into your new office yet?

A. Yeah, you know, I kinda moved the furniture around, moved the bookcases; just, you know, more comfortable for me. I want to get some plants in and make it a little more homey. And I've been thinking about themes; I've been thinking about getting some pictures of all the schools to put on my walls and maybe some historical, cultural things from the Valley, kind of make it so that people know the roots of this place when they walk in.

Q. How might your leadership style differ from Bob Doyle's?

A. I think Bob and I worked very well together.

We do have different leadership styles, but I think that's probably natural. I think we complemented each other very well. Bob had a very good understanding of curriculum, but most of his approach to the superintendency was through the business side of the house, whereas mine has been on the school instruction side of the house.

There's no doubt in my mind that the work he did in the School District was all focused on student learning and the building of a guaranteed and viable curriculum, and that's where mine will be too.

I think probably a big part of being a principal or a superintendent is being a mediator. I probably spend more time listening, and I'm not sure that's always good. But I'm comfortable with it. Bob can make very good decisions and be very decisive. I can be decisive too, but I probably take more time processing (decisions). I don't want to sound weak-kneed or anything (he laughs). It's just my experience being a teacher probably tempers the way that I approach most things.

Q. Your wife is a teacher in the district and you still have a daughter in school here. Do you worry at all that your role as superintendent might sometimes conflict with your role as husband or father? I mean some of the decisions you'll make might not be real popular with teachers or students. Is that a worry?

A. You know, I can understand where that can happen. It doesn't influence my decision-making or my judgment. I have a lot of faith in the people of the Mat-Su Valley, and I don't want to sound patronizing or anything, but I have worked here for 17 years. I've made this the home for my family and they look at it as home. I feel very much a part of the community and we all have roles that we take on in the community and do that responsibly.

I guess for anyone involved in public service, especially in probably pretty visible positions, there's a common good that we all have to work toward. I value that very much and I want to do my part to contribute to that. I want to honor each one of our students and parents, and I won't filter it through my personal life.

Q. What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the School District, and how will you meet them?

A. Our biggest challenges, I think, are good things for our organization. It's still in the area of curriculum and instruction -- developing and maintaining that guaranteed and viable curriculum.

You know, what is our intended curriculum? Is that being the taught curriculum? Are students learning it? If they aren't learning it, why aren't they? Then what do we do to make sure they're learning? Those are the biggest challenges that we have to deal with.

Q. Is that true in any district, do you think, or is that something unique in our district?

A. You know, I think it should be. ... I think those should be the biggest challenges for any school district. I don't think they always are -- I don't know that they always have been for our school district. But I think over the last five years that we have set up a situation, a whole momentum, where that is the challenge and we've identified it and we're addressing it. That's what will benefit our students most.

Q. Any other thoughts? Anything else you'd like people to know?

A. I just want to remind parents that they're definitely the most valuable partners we have in their child's education. Their children can't be successful without their partnership with the school, and I just really want to emphasize that.