Welcome
The staff is off to a fabulous year! Students are so excited to be back in school. Our school has a
complete team that has raised the bar for student expectations. Family Engagement nights will
be scheduled for the second Tuesday of every month. With the newly passed Alaska Reads Act,
our district has adopted a new reading curriculum, and the staff will be developing Individual
Reading Intervention Plans (Irip) for all students in grades K-3. Volunteers will be needed, and
we are asking parents and community members to become involved in helping our children
become excellent readers.
I want to welcome new staff members: Mary Swanson is our Kindergarten teacher, and she is
mentoring a student teacher; Joan Martin is welcomed back to be our 1st-grade teacher;
Patrick O’Toole is our secondary Math teacher; Tamika Galvin is our secondary English teacher;
Danny Cheek is our secondary Social Teacher; Susan McCullough is our Career Counselor; and
Mai Higgins has joined the team in leading our Music program for grades K-12.
Our students and staff are the best team.
I look forward to the upcoming year with great hope and enthusiasm. I look forward to meeting
all parents and community members and working together to educate our children.
Helen Cheek
Superintendent
Hoonah City School District