Each month my husband writes the Homer High School newsletter. Usually it is mundane school news, but this month, as our youngest child prepares to graduate, he got a bit more personal. Judging by the outpouring response to it, many other Homer parents feel the same way about raising their kids here. Thought I would share it here.
Normally I would write about all the great things Homer High students are doing and the cool events that are coming up. Instead, I want to let you know how grateful I am to the Homer community. We moved to the Homer area eleven years ago and it was the best decision we ever made. I say this because not only am I a principal of Homer High School, I am a parent and my youngest child is a member of the class of 2018 and will graduate in less than a month.
My children are a product of the Homer community. We have had so many great experiences raising them here. Events ranged from Bruins Basketball and taking art classes at Homer Council on the Arts to taking kayaking classes, HOWL and Boy Scouts. Our kids were inspired by participating in Math Counts and even performed for Pier One Theatre.
We have great memories with Homer Community Recreation, especially with Fuzzy and rock climbing. All through Middle School our kids lived at the rock wall. We even spent time across the bay climbing Kachemak Crack. We have missed Fuzzy since he passed away.
In High School our kids were able to play varsity sports and be a part of National Honor Society and Ocean Bowl. Most importantly, they were inspired by a great staff. They were awoken to the world of science by Mr. Rife and were challenged to think critically by Mr. Campbell. Mrs. Borland pushed their limits studying history and Ms. Tetor helped them fall in love with ceramics. There are too many influential adults, teachers, coaches and community members who positively affected our children's lives to list here.
They were able to give back by helping teach kids to ski in remote villages as part of Skiku, encourage children to get excited about sea life through providing tide pool walks for elementary children at Peterson Bay and help present Native summer camps in the Aleutian Islands. I am totally envious that my daughter got to deckhand on the Tiglax for a couple weeks one summer with Youth Conservation Corp (YCC). It is crazy to me the number of opportunities there are in Homer for our youth. It is like we woke up one day and hit the parenting jackpot.
Both of my kids worked hard and are going to college to become engineers and I couldn't be prouder of them. They have both earned awards, excelled at school and enjoyed sports, but it wouldn't have played out the way it did anywhere else in the world but Homer. In fact, our kids are mad at us that we didn't move to Homer sooner. In their hearts they are Alaskans.
It truly does take a village to raise a child and my children are an example of that. I am truly grateful for what the Homer area has provided for my family and I hope I can give a piece of that back to future graduates as Principal of Homer High School.
Thank you, Homer!
Hello! I am interested in moving to Homer, Alaska with my wife. I have recently had an interview to teach at Homer Middle School and am just trying to see if this would be a good fit for us( if I get offered the job). We are very into the outdoors such as camping, fishing, etc. We are currently living in Las Vegas so I know Homer would be a big change.. hopefully a good one. I am mainly worried about my wife being able to find a job. She is a Psychology Major and am worried she may be stuck without a job due to how small the town is. Any input about Homer lifestyle, affordability, etc. would be greatly appreciated!
ReplyDeleteI happened upon this post quite accidentally looking for trails. I work as a teacher for KPBSD but in Kenai. If she were to continue on to become a school psychologist she may be able to find a job working between several schools. I love my school district and I think it’s a great place to work!
DeleteThere are plenty of jobs in Homer for people who want to work. The Center might employ a psychology major, but it really depends on what your wife wants to do.
ReplyDeleteLifestyle is really summed up in my eleven years of blog posts. We consider it a good place to live. Liking the outdoors is a plus and appreciating beauty. It can be expensive to live in Homer but it seems like more and more, places we’ve lived in the lower 48 are pretty expensive too. The PFD can help, as can the subsistence fishing (annual salmon dipnetting) and hunting if that’s your thing or gardening. People learn to make do.
Good luck with the job!