Unalakleet students began the new school year Thursday under overcast skies and whipping winds. Inside the school, the hallways were calm and composed. Students checked out their new lockers to start the morning and reviewed their schedules.
By 9:30 a.m., the students had crammed themselves into bleachers in the gym for an opening speech from Principal Kris Busk.
“I always do a motivational speech to the kids,” Busk said. “It's also just to check on a couple of the biggies, the cell phone policy, the gum and the expectations. But really, it's trying to grow them, to take advantage of everything that we work hard to provide for."
It’s become an annual tradition for Busk, but this year had an extra twist. He took a moment to highlight last year’s state championship winning basketball team – Unalakleet’s first state title in nearly three decades.
The cross country team’s now-senior, Ourea Busk, also earned a state championship last year. It was her second year in a row being the fastest in Division III.
Busk told the students that the sports teams were setting a high standard for achievement, but reaching those levels started with hard work in the classroom.
“They’re a student first and an athlete second,” Busk said. “All of those kids needed to be eligible to travel and participate first before they could compete.”
Following the assembly, students were divided into mixed-age groups for problem-solving activities and games. Teachers planned the groups in advance to make sure different grades and abilities were represented.
Each group created a set of challenges for other groups rotating through to overcome. Several rooms set up intricate obstacle courses with string criss-crossing between the wall and a row of chairs. Other groups put out puzzles or made the teams come up with a dance.
The first day of school was designed to emphasize connection as much as instruction. After four months apart, Busk said it was important for students to spend time together before diving into regular coursework.
“These kids have been away from each other for four months straight,” Busk said. “Giving them an opportunity to interact and get to know each other means they share an experience with an upperclassman or a lowerclassman.”
Busk said the school wants students to see the first day as a positive experience. The focus on teamwork and fun, he said, was also an early lesson learned from its School Climate and Connectedness Survey. Bering Strait School District implemented the annual survey of students, staff and families about a decade ago.
Busk said results from earlier surveys showed that peer climate and student voice were areas that needed improvement. The school has responded by expanding student government and creating more opportunities for students to participate in decision-making.
After years of effort, Busk said the results are moving in the right direction.
“We have broken our record,” he said. “After nine years we’ve now achieved the highest level of favorable response for our peer climate.”
This year also marks the second year of a strict cell phone policy at Unalakleet School. The policy, adopted across the Bering Strait School District, allows no use of phones during the school day.
Busk said that while many students would prefer more flexibility, the policy has helped create a stronger learning environment.
“Many of them don’t agree with it,” Busk said. “They would like to see maybe a lighter shade of it.”
Busk said the school wants students to see policies like this as an opportunity to use their voices through student government.
“You don’t like it? Come to the student government, talk to your representative,” he said. “Let’s bring it up at a meeting. Let’s write a letter to AEC [Advisory Education Council]. The AEC can then approach the board about revising the system.”
As Busk enters the “senior year” of his own tenure as principal, he felt the entire staff was hitting its stride in service of Unalakleet’s youth.
“I can't express how much I feel honored to be amongst this team and to work side by side with every other adult that's in this building, you know, doing the job like rolling up our sleeves and working together when there's an issue,” Busk said.
His first priority for the year is ensuring Unalakleet’s academic performance is at the forefront. But there’s room to grow in every category, and he felt confident the students and staff could get there.
“My outlook on this year is that our academic continues to go through the roof. Our climate continues to achieve, so we continue to go up in all of our lowest areas, and that the kids participate in the activities, both athletic and academic, as much as possible. We have zero suspensions. Those are my goals, and I think– I know we can do it.”
