Alaska, Here We Come...

Yesterday Josh got not one but two calls from a rural school district in Southwest Alaska.  The first position was in a village called Russian Mission, Alaska.  The position was for a first/second grade split.  The second position is the one we had in mind when we interviewed with the Lower Yukon School District representatives at the job fair in Seattle last weekend.  It is in a village called Marshall, Alaska.  The position is for a fifth/sixth grade split.  We talked it through, made a list of pros and cons for each position, and in the end decided to go with Marshall.

We got home from playing at the park with the kids and Josh called the HR Director to let him know his decision.  I was outside playing in the front yard with the boys so he could talk in peace and all I saw through the window was a lot of excited fist pumping and a huge smile.  As soon as he hung up he flew out the door to hug me and said, "I'm a teacher!"  

What a moment!

The red star on this map pinpoints where Marshall Alaska is.  It is located on the Yukon River and is roughly 400 miles west of Anchorage.  The nearest "big" village (with 6,000 residents) is Bethel, which is also where the nearest hospital is located.

Marshall has a brand new school (just opened this past September), includes a free laptop and camera for every new teacher, is a Title I School (which means if Josh were to teach there for four years, he could have ALL of his student loans forgiven) and pays 100% of health insurance costs.  Housing comes pre-furnished and expenses are subsidized by the district and include utilities.  Also, after we have lived there a year, we will qualify for the Alaska Oil Dividends, which last year was roughly $3500 per person in your family.  It is a small village, roughly 400 people, with only a school, post office & small store, and there are no vehicles necessary- everyone walks everywhere.  The majority of residents are native Alaskans who subsist on moose, salmon & berries.

Right now the plan is for Josh to leave for Alaska the first week of August- school starts on August 8th, our eight year wedding anniversary- and stay in the single teacher housing until our new unit is completed. The projected completion date is October 1.  The more realistic date is mid-December. So I will stay here with the kids until Josh flies home over Christmas break to move us up North with him.

We have three months left together, then I will have roughly five months here in Vancouver without Josh, and roughly five months up in Marshall without everyone else- school ends mid May.

"I'm 98% excited, 2% scared... 
Or maybe it's the other way around... 
But that's what make it so intense!" 
-Oscar
(Armageddon)