KOTZEBUE -- When students enter walk the Alaska Technical Center in the Northwest Arctic, they first have to go through a tall qanitchaq (an arctic entry or mud room), complete with a nearby bench for pulling off boots and high windows that look out on the waters of Kotzebue Sound.
From there, it's off to class for students at the technical center, where residents from rural Alaska communities in grades 11 through 14 (essentially through an associate's degree) can focus their higher education.
It's touches like the entryway that make the technical center more welcoming, which is important given that the boarding school is a home away from home for students looking to gain vocational skills in four fields: process technology, construction, health care and culinary arts.
Last year, about 500 people participated in one day of training or more at the facility, according to administrators. Of those, 100 full-time students graduated last year with industry recognized certification and college credits.
Now, after a $14 million expansion, the Northwest Arctic Borough School District is looking to bring high school students from all over the state to Kotzebue to give them an education that will take them further.
The school district -- which serves 2,500 students -- is finishing up a $5.5 million dormitory that will sleep 40 high school students. Those students will be some of the first to attend the Star of the Northwest Magnet School, a vocational high school that will set students up for careers that demand specialized training. Deemed a magnet school because it will bring in students from all over the state, Star of the Northwest is a collaboration between the Alaska Technical Center, the school district and the University of Alaska Fairbanks Chukchi Campus.
According to superintendent Annmarie O'Brien, Alaska Technical Center is the only post-secondary school operated by a local school district. While there is still a dorm that houses adult students, there was no dorm for high school students wanting to enroll in the school.
Now that's changing. The dorm is expected to be finished in December, and the first residential high school students will begin class in January.
A changing facility
The Alaska Technical Center isn't new to the community, but it has undergone a recent facelift. It was built 31 years ago and was slowly remodeled in two phases over the last four years, according to ATC director Cheryl Edenshaw.
In 2006, leaders in the Northwest Arctic began discussing a possible magnet school in the region. The concept is not unheard of, and it has been considered something of a "revolution" in rural Alaska. Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka is probably the best-known boarding school in the state. Its students, predominantly from rural villages, attend class in a traditional high school setting. Other schools like the Galena Interior Learning Academy and the Nenana City Schools also offer boarding programs to go along with the mostly vocational courses they offer. The programs are similar to high school, but instead of a generalized education students can choose to focus on a vocational "major."
With the idea for the magnet school in place -- and local leadership behind it, including NANA Regional Corp., the Northwest Arctic Borough and the regional health nonprofit, Maniilaq -- the push for funding began, according to O'Brien. The district first traveled to villages, making sure the support for the idea was there before they set out to secure a way to pay for it.
They also worked with leaders to make sure community needs were met. NANA Management Services, a subsidiary of the regional corporation, suggested the school have a culinary arts component to train students for the workforce. ATC leaders took note, and they plan to open a culinary training facility in October.
There's hope that with the new facility there may be room for expanded programs in the future. Another goal would be to update the adult dormitory and have family housing, according O'Brien.
But even with the resources they have, students are still making good. Cindy Lincoln is a health instructor at the school. She's watched as mothers and daughters have made their way through her certified nursing assistant program. She said she's heard from many medical professionals who have been impressed with the students the school trains. She said it's also acted as a launchpad for students who go on to get full nursing degrees.
"It's tremendous seeing (that) they have the confidence to do this," said Lincoln.