French International Alum Chelsea Faltersack Reflects on Teaching in Remote Village and Life in Rural Alaska

When French International alum Chelsea Faltersack decided to become an educator, the idea of teaching Natic Alaskan students in a remote village was not on her radar. However, after making the move on a whim, she has not looked back and is currently teaching in St. Mary’s, Alaska. We caught up with Chelsea as she shares more about her experience working with the Algaaciq Native Village and Yupiit of Andreafski populations and her life in Alaska.

How did you end up in Alaska? 

I’ve been teaching in rural Alaska for 12 years. I came out here on kind of a whim. I graduated with my Master’s in 2013 and didn’t really want to stay in the Portland area, but I didn’t know where I wanted to be. A college friend had moved to Alaska to teach while I was in graduate school, and she encouraged me to think about joining her. I was curious and decided I could do anything for a year, so I took the plunge. I taught in Gambell, Alaska, for five years and then moved to Saint Mary’s, Alaska, where I’ve been for seven.

What is it like living in St. Mary’s?

We have two federally recognized tribes in town: Algaaciq Native Village and Yupiit of Andreafski. Saint Mary’s is located on the Andreafski River, which is a tributary of the Yukon River. The two rivers meet about five miles downriver from Saint Mary’s. Saint Mary’s is in the Alaskan bush, which means it is only accessible by plane (year-round) and boat (summer). Small planes flown by small regional airlines are the only ones that service most villages, including Saint Mary’s. Since Saint Mary’s is so remote, everything needs to be flown in or brought in on the barges in the summer. We have one store in town, and the prices definitely reflect our remoteness! Being so remote also affects shipping. It typically takes about 2-4 weeks for anything I order to get to me. Boxes shipped by friends and family get here a little quicker, typically 1-2 weeks.

I feel like my day-to-day life is pretty typical. I wake up, I go to work, I walk my dog. That being said, I do get to enjoy some beautiful scenery and the outdoors. In the fall, I frequently go out on the tundra to pick berries. I always try to get at least a few gallons so that I have fresh fruit all winter long. I also enjoy boating and hiking on the tundra. The vast openness is still impressive to me, even after 12 years.

What do your school days look like? 

I work in a single-site school district with about 150 students, preschool through 12th grade. Like a lot of rural schools in Alaska, my school serves a predominantly Native Alaskan population, which influences our curriculum and community engagement. All grades K-12 have daily Yup’ik classes. Our Yup’ik department splits the year and focuses on Yup’ik language for one semester and traditional skills, such as skin sewing, beading, woodworking, and dancing, during the other semester. Outside of our Yup’ik department, classroom teachers also try to bring in culture where we can. We're encouraged to invite elders into our classrooms to share stories and experiences. 

My district has a robust relevant education program, where we take students out to do subsistence activities. Elementary students go on day trips to pick berries, while older grades go on camping trips to hunt and fish. It's a time that we can celebrate the importance of subsistence activities and the importance of student and family culture. Also, we connect those activities to content in the classroom. For my kindergarten classroom, we'll do a lot of counting activities, some data graphing with fishing, and a lot of narrative writing.

The state of Alaska puts a lot of importance on Native Alaskan cultures and the state’s history. Teachers across the state have to take cultural studies and state history classes in order to teach in the state for more than two years. This is especially important because educators come to Alaska from across the lower 48, and many people end up in Indigenous communities without an understanding of the local culture, values, or even the history of education in Alaska.

On the particular day of our interview, Chelsea mentioned it was 14 below outside, so the school had indoor recess. At her school, the cutoff is ten below, so if it’s ten below or warmer, the students are outside. 

What has surprised you about being a teacher in Alaska?

I feel like the things that have surprised me the most are just such mundane small things. Villages tend to be small communities. St. Mary's is a community of about 500 people, and a lot of households are multi-generational households. You'll have kids, parents, grandparents, and sometimes great-grandparents, all living under one roof, and they can get a little cramped, so there's a big culture of playing outside. One of the things that took me aback during my first couple of years in Alaska is it can be the middle of winter, 40 below zero, and there are 15 kids outside playing tag together. 

There are a lot of teachers in village schools from all over the lower 48. I was talking to one of my friends who used to teach in Florida, and she said that one of the things that really surprised her was dismissal. This is a really small, insulated community. Everyone knows everyone. Instead of having strict procedures where you make sure the right person's picking up the right kid, you open the doors, and the kids all just stream out. I have kindergartners who walk with themselves home every day, and my friend said that surprised her first year here.

Did anything from French International help prepare you for working in Alaska?

Being around students and staff from such different cultural backgrounds at a young age really helped me build an appreciation of diversity and cultural awareness. Both of those things are pretty important in rural Alaska. We’re also not far removed from when native youth were forced away from their families and into residential schools. While I was not part of that decision, it's still important to know that that is part of the intergenerational trauma and part of the cultural identity at this point, so I have to have awareness and an understanding of how I interact with others. I think I got a lot of that from French [International] and being around such a diverse population from a young age.

Also, a lot of the students that I work with have limited English proficiency. Most people do not speak Yup’ik fluently, but they will frequently mix Yup’ik and English words together to make village English. I have a lot of patience with students who don't quite know the right words in English. I never took math in English until I was a freshman in high school, and that was a challenge. I had no academic vocabulary. Luckily, my teachers were great through high school, and I was fine. I have a lot of empathy for my students who have limited English proficiency.

Do you have a favorite memory from your time at French International?

I always really liked ACE Week and field studies. Those were some highlights of my years. And then not quite instructional, but I think French [International] owns that property next to it now, but when the campus was new, they didn't. The family that lived there had a pet pig that would escape from the fence and come into the playground. It was terrifying and hilarious.

Is there anything else you want to share?

I've really enjoyed my time in Alaska. It's been an interesting experience, and I would recommend it to anyone. Even just a visit to the state is a lot of fun. I came up a few years ago with one of my brothers for a friend's wedding, and we had a pretty big blast going out to Denali and hiking around there. Alaska's a beautiful state. It has a lot of culture and history. Even though I've been here for 12 years, I'm still learning new things about the area I live in and the community that I work with.