UAS School of Education

10/01/2026

Great teaching starts with great learning!

K–12 educators, are you looking for fresh ways to engage students in reading and writing?

Join the University of Alaska Southeast School of Education this fall for Responsive Literacy Instruction for All Students, a two-part virtual professional learning opportunity designed to bring new ideas and practical strategies into your classroom.

✨ Session 1: Actively Engaging with Literary Texts
📅 Saturday, October 24 | 10 a.m. – Noon

✨ Session 2: Mentor Texts as a Support for Writing
📅 Saturday, November 7 | 10 a.m. – Noon

💻 Both sessions are offered via Zoom, so you can participate from anywhere!

Attend one session or join us for both. Connect with new ideas and explore ways to make literacy instruction more engaging for all students.

🔗 Register here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf7S-DtK1ZrIsQQ5S7F-o20ZAV1t39F_xQlfB-bCBiphg4HqQ/viewform

09/16/2026

What a great way to kick off this fall’s Evening at Egan series! 🍂🍁🍂

This Friday, September 18 at 7 p.m., UAS School of Education Dean Angie Lunda and faculty member Lorrie Heagy will join Alaskan educators Chelsee Cook, Amber Frommherz, Roby Littlefield, and Naomi Leask for “Learning and Teaching the Language of the Land: Insights from Alaskan Teachers.”

The Evening at Egan series is free and open to the public, with the presentation available both in person at the Egan Lecture Hall and via livestream.

UAS Evening at Egan: Fall series starts Friday!

Evening at Egan kicks off its five-lecture fall series with Learning and Teaching the Language of the Land: Insights from Alaskan Teachers with Chelsee Cook, Amber Frommerz, Lorrie Heagy, Roby Littlefield, Naomi Leask and Angie Lunda.

Upcoming lectures will explore high-altitude agriculture and climate, Juneau’s 2026 glacial lake outburst flood, Indigenous-settler land coalitions and more.

Join us this Friday as these Alaskan educators draw on years of collaborative work supporting the cultural identity development of Indigenous children to explore how language, values and culture intertwine. Their work has been shared globally and published across academic platforms. Attendees will gain practical ideas for how educators at any fluency level can successfully make space for Indigenous languages in their teaching.

Evening at Egan is the annual UAS lecture series held each fall, welcoming the Juneau community to engage with leading scholars and experts as they explore diverse topics and spark thought-provoking conversations.

Lectures are free and open to the public, with all events beginning at 7 p.m. in the Egan Lecture Hall and streamed live via Zoom. Recordings are available on the UAS YouTube Channel at the speaker’s discretion.

The schedule, Zoom link and more details are posted at uas.alaska.edu/eganlecture.

09/05/2026

08/26/2026

There is something powerful about stepping away from our usual routines and making space to be together.

The UAS School of Education recently gathered for our annual retreat, facilitated by the Alaska Humanities Forum. As we prepare for a new academic year and navigate a season of change, this time gave us an opportunity to pause, recenter, and reconnect with our shared purpose: serving our students.

Together, we reflected, listened, created, walked, shared meals, and envisioned the year ahead. We explored our shared values, set intentions for our work, and considered how we can continue growing as a strong, connected team.

Change can bring both challenges and opportunities. Taking time to strengthen our relationships and ground ourselves in a shared vision helps us move forward together, ready to better support our students, one another, and the communities we serve.

We return to the new year with renewed connection, shared purpose, and gratitude for the work ahead. 💚

08/12/2026

This summer, our Educational Leadership Cohort 18 had the opportunity to take part in a little piece of history.

During a July visit to Sealaska Heritage Institute, cohort members helped process mountain goat wool by carefully separating the guard hairs from the wool. Their work supported an extraordinary project underway at SHI: the creation of the first Chilkat robe woven entirely from jánwu (mountain goat) wool in more than 150 years.

This process is part of a much larger effort to perpetuate the knowledge and practices involved in preparing, spinning, dyeing, and weaving traditional materials. The completed robe will become part of SHI’s permanent collection in Juneau and is planned to be danced for the first time at Celebration 2028.

We are grateful to Sealaska Heritage Institute and the artists sharing their knowledge for giving our Ed Leadership students the opportunity to learn through participation, connection, and community.

Experiences like this remind us that leadership education extends far beyond the classroom. 💙🏔️🐐🧶

Learn more about this historic project from Sealaska Heritage Institute:
https://sealaskaheritage.org/shi-selects-weaver-for-historic-mountain-goat-chilkat-robe-project/

08/10/2026

If you’ve ever wondered who helps keep all the moving pieces of the UAS School of Education moving, chances are Michelle Nakamura has something to do with it.

As our Administrative Manager, Michelle is at the center of just about everything that keeps the School of Education running. From budgeting, personnel, and academic scheduling to student services, accreditation, program administration, and the countless unexpected things that come up in between, Michelle is the person connecting people, processes, and resources every single day.

But what makes Michelle so important to the SOE goes far beyond the long list of things she manages. She is a problem-solver, a steady presence, a source of institutional knowledge, and someone faculty, staff, and students know they can turn to when they need help figuring out what comes next. So much of the work that keeps a school like ours functioning happens quietly behind the scenes, and Michelle is behind an incredible amount of it.

Michelle is also a proud UAS alumna, earning her Bachelor of Arts in Social Science from UAS in 2011 and, most recently, completing her Master of Public Administration in 2026! 🎓

What Michelle says she values most about her work is supporting students as they make their way from prospective teachers to classroom professionals serving communities throughout Alaska. That commitment to students, educators, and community shows up in the work she does every day.

We are incredibly fortunate to have Michelle helping hold all the pieces together here at the School of Education. Thank you, Michelle, for the work everyone sees, the work most people never see, and the hundreds of things you somehow keep moving forward at the same time. 💙💛

Learn more about Michelle:
https://uas.alaska.edu/dir/mlnakamura.html

08/06/2026

The UAS School of Education is excited to welcome Robin Lockwood as the newest member of our faculty!

Robin joins us as an Assistant Professor of Secondary & Elementary Education, bringing a unique blend of classroom teaching, educational leadership, and a passion for experiential learning. A lifelong Alaskan, she enjoys connecting education with the outdoors, sustainability, and global learning, helping students discover meaningful, real-world connections in their teaching.

Robin holds a Master of Education in Educational Leadership, a Master of Arts in Teaching, and a Master of Science in Outdoor and Environmental Education, all of which shape her hands-on, student-centered approach to preparing future educators.

We're thrilled to have Robin join our team and look forward to the knowledge, energy, and fresh perspectives she'll bring to our students and the School of Education community.

Welcome to the UAS School of Education, Robin!

08/04/2026

📚 Earn Professional Development Credit at CRE!

Attending the Sealaska Heritage Institute CRE Conference? Make the most of your experience by earning 1 professional development credit through the University of Alaska Southeast School of Education!

This credit may be used toward Alaska teacher certificate renewal (subject to approval by the receiving institution), and you'll receive an official UAS transcript upon successful completion of the course.

Here's what you need to know:

✅ Who can participate?
All registered CRE Conference attendees.

💲 Cost:
$90 (paid directly to UAS)

📝 How to earn your credit:
• Visit the UAS School of Education table in Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall when you arrive at the conference to register.
• Attend the conference keynote on the first morning.
• Attend the featured speaker presentation on the second morning.
• Participate in one breakout session during each remaining conference time block.
• Complete and submit a 3–5 page reflection by August 15 following the course instructions.

Whether you're renewing your teaching certificate or simply investing in your professional growth, this is a great opportunity to receive university credit while participating in the conference.

We look forward to seeing you at CRE!

07/30/2026

This year, we're excited to welcome Cindy McKibben to the UAS School of Education as she begins her first year teaching in our Master of Education in Educational Leadership program. Cohort 17 will be the first group of aspiring school leaders to learn from her wealth of experience.

Cindy joins UAS after a distinguished career in Alaska's K–12 schools, where she has served as a teacher, principal, and district leader. Most recently, she has led both Hope and Cooper Landing Schools while also serving as Intervention & Assessment Coordinator for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, supporting student success and instructional improvement across the district.

Known for her collaborative leadership and commitment to helping every student thrive, Cindy brings practical, real-world experience to the Educational Leadership program. Her work in rural schools, school improvement, and instructional leadership offers invaluable insight for educators preparing to take the next step in their own leadership journeys.

We're thrilled to have Cindy join our faculty and look forward to the knowledge, mentorship, and perspective she'll bring to Cohort 17 and future educational leaders across Alaska.

Please join us in welcoming Cindy McKibben to the UAS School of Education!

07/30/2026

✨ Come join our team! ✨

The University of Alaska Southeast School of Education is growing, and we're looking for two outstanding people who are passionate about supporting students, collaborating with an incredible team, and making a difference in education across Alaska.

We're currently hiring for:

🌿 Director of Operations! This is a key leadership position that keeps the many moving pieces of the School of Education running, from budgets and HR to academic operations, while supporting the faculty, staff, and students doing important work across Alaska.

https://careers.alaska.edu/jobs/director-of-operations-juneau-alaska-united-states

At the UAS School of Education, you'll join a team that values collaboration, innovation, and supporting one another as we prepare educators who will shape the future of Alaska.

And as an added bonus… you'll quickly discover one of our favorite unofficial traditions: building your own collection of photos of Auke Lake. With views like ours, it's almost impossible not to stop and snap a picture as the seasons change.

Know someone who would be a great fit? Share this post and help us find our next amazing teammates!