Wrangell Public Schools begins school Thursday and the new superintendent, Joshua Garrett, has been in the office since early July preparing.
Garrett emphasizes a student-centered approach focused on skills like resilience and creativity. He stresses the importance of community engagement and adaptability in education, using a collective approach to evolve education on the island.
Garrett shared his vision for Wrangell Public Schools with KSTK’s Colette Czarnecki. He said his ideas for education come from his global experience working in education, including being a director for international schools in North Macedonia and Kazakhstan. But he’s happy to be in Southeast Alaska now.
The author lightly edited the interview for brevity and clarity.
Wrangell is fantastic. I’m here the best time of the year.
Everybody’s coming up to me. I’ve had some really great conversations about education.
I like learning new things and adapting to new ways of life and new ways of thinking.
I never lived on an island. I’m not a fisherman. I’m not a hunter.
What is your vision for Wrangell Public Schools over the next five years?
It’s got to be a collective vision. Where do we want to go as a community, as a faculty, students, moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas?
What I bring to that vision making and vision leading process is a very strong point of view about what education can be.
Is education being able to regurgitate a set of facts or is it a disposition for learning? I am definitely on the latter side.
What are your top priorities for improving student achievements?
We really need to talk about school system processes. What is happening in that classroom that’s going to give us the best opportunity for those students to be successful. It’s not just the ability to take a test and fill in the right bubbles.
I think the stuff that will determine our success in the long run is a culture and an environment in all three of our schools where kids are loved and respected and challenged and asked to do things beyond what they think they’re capable of.
When you walk into a classroom that’s effective, you’re going to see kids that are engaged.
There’s going to be a lot of group work. There’s going to be a lot of activity in which kids are pushing themselves and each other in discovery.
Not only are they going to be learning their academic skills, but they’re also going to be learning their social skills and their collaboration skills.
How do you plan to address challenges unique to this area on an island?
Every place has its own unique challenges.
I know the district budget has been a challenge, not just here in Wrangell, but all over Alaska. But let me say Bill Burr did an excellent job, and the school board did an excellent job, managing the funds. So I’m walking in with at least a year breathing room.
But going forward, we have to exhaust every option that we have as a school district. We need to figure out ways of bringing in revenue that is not tied to the state and federal government.
Anytime you go and you ask for money, for a grant, from a nonprofit agency, from a foundation, you have to have a story, a compelling reason. Why should they give Wrangell Public Schools money? There has to be this compelling story about who Wrangell is, what our students are doing, what our communities have been experiencing.
In terms of school safety, what steps are on your mind?
I just met with Chief and several other police officers. We’ve already been talking about that, how are we gonna get training to our teachers for the worst case scenarios.
I like the idea of kind of an egg where you have a hard shell so that the perimeter is hard. It’s difficult for people who intend to do bad things to get in, but once they’re in, if we allow you in, then it’s a nice, homey, soft atmosphere.
The number one thing for all of us at school is to keep every kid safe at all times.
How have you evolved from all your previous experience working globally in the education sense?
I think my different experiences at different schools, in different countries, really has helped prepare me for Wrangell in a lot of ways. It is multicultural. We’ve got a lot of different kinds of people, a lot of interesting personalities here. We have a lot of depth here that can be mined for learning.
Is there anything else you want to say about you, the job or Wrangell?
I’m very happy to be here. I’m excited about what opportunities lie ahead for us collectively, if we have the courage and the will to go after them.
And if people are listening and if they want to talk, I’m always happy to talk about what we think, what they think. I want to listen. I want to understand. What are people’s concerns here? What are their hopes and their dreams? And let’s see if we can work together to make those happen.
