Daily Sitka Sentinel

New ‘Conversation’ Airs Cultural Issues

By ABIGAIL BLISS
Sentinel Staff Writer
        As community members filed into the ANB Founders Hall Monday evening for the third conversation regarding the “co-creation” of Sitka schools, they were greeted by the reminder that there would be only participants, no observers, that evening.
        A multitude of voices, after all, was the intended foundation for the initiative’s aim: a culturally-responsive school district built upon input from a diverse set of stakeholders, beginning with Native people.
        Phil Burdick, co-superintendent of the Sitka School District, reminded participants of the evening’s purpose, encouraging them to tease out actionable items from ideas generated at the community conversations in March and October last year.
        “What we’re really wanting is to take the specific ideas from previous meetings and really focus in and see what we can accomplish. No one wants to be in a meeting for meeting’s sake. We want to actually do something,” he said.
        Before kicking off the structured dialogue portion of the evening, the 40 or so participants present broke bread. District staffers sat beside Native elders, parents conversed with teachers, and School Board members shared a table with leaders of local nonprofits, finding common ground in their pursuit of equity in Sitka. When it came time for attendees to take their seats in a circle and share their names with the group, introductions were made in both Tlingit and English.
        Along with Sitka Native Education Co-Director Nancy Douglas, Burdick presented the guidelines for the evening, which included “In every chair, a leader,” “safe space for meaningful conversation,” and “our value of humor helps us.”
        Andrea Sanders of the First Alaskans Institute and Konrad Frank of the Association of Alaska School Boards offered tools to facilitate the conversation, and local Native culture bearers such as Herman Davis provided insight gleaned from years of experience and context that underscored the importance of integrating Native culture into Sitka classrooms.
        In thanking those attending, Davis also urged them to have patience with those seeking and struggling to learn, whether it be that evening at the hall or the next morning in the classroom. “Have pity on those who are slow learners,” he said.
        Indeed, much of the evening’s conversation revolved around the necessity of meeting students where they are, as well as the importance of redistributing the responsibility for integrating Tlingit culture into education among individuals throughout the community, rather than asking teachers to shoulder the brunt or entirety of the burden on their own.
        A third part addressed the challenge of creating sustainable change throughout the district, instead of relying on efforts that ebb and flow along with the start and stop of grants.
        “How do we build ‘culturally-responsive’ into the base, rather than having it as an add-on?” Sanders asked those assembled. “We’re going to start rolling up our sleeves and putting some grease behind our wheels.”
        Participants broke into six smaller groups on themes that had been harvested from previous conversations or cropped up since: growing our own educations, the school calendar, place-based education, embedded language, equity working group, and an open table for new ideas. They were encouraged to consider their topics in relation to their own assets and work toward giving the district its “marching orders” to implement culturally-responsive schools.
        After 30 minutes, several suggestions were put on the table for consideration moving forward. They included a district database of community partners; inviting Native elders into the classroom to inspire future educators; 10 common Tlingit words that every student and staffer could master and use often; giving the opportunity for activity-based absences; and adding physical symbols to existing structures as representative of the district’s cultural inclusion.
        At the evening’s end, Davis left participants with a parting thought. “We’ve been silent long enough,” he said. “Now is the time for them to know who we are.”