Students invite ‘best’ teacher to commencement

MATT NEVALA

May 22, 2008 at 4:06PM AKST

Like so many teachers, Colleen Castaneda wanted to believe the time — in her case, nearly a quarter century — spent in the classroom counted for something. To put it simply, educators strive to make a difference in each and every students’ life.

Castaneda, 44, answered a telephone call in late April and was presented a proposal that gave all the educational evidence needed. She made her mark on Alakanuk’s entire 2008 graduating class, seniors she taught as 5- and 6-year-old kindergartners more than a decade ago.

Now an Anchorage School District teacher, Castaneda listened as Catherine Harry, the 13-member graduating class’ salutatorian, asked if Castaneda would return to Alakanuk for a special occasion. The seniors needed a commencement speaker, and they all wanted it to be their kindergarten teacher.

“Oh my goodness, I was absolutely touched and very honored,” Castaneda said. “Catherine said I was the best teacher they ever had and was a positive influence.

“I was in tears when she asked if I’d be able to be the graduation speaker. It seems like students possess a rare power to touch a teacher’s heart.”

Castaneda was unmarried, teaching under her maiden name — Catherine McIntyre — during the 1995-96 school year. The year marked the last of her seven teaching in Alakanuk, the village located 162 miles northwest of Bethel.

She followed her time in Alakanuk with stops in Mountain Village and Unalakleet before heading to Anchorage. She’s now married with two children and in her fourth year teaching special education at Anchorage’s Abbott Loop Elementary.

After alerting her bosses and gaining approval for the trip to Alakanuk, Castaneda’s head started to fill with memories of her students as kindergartners. She kept in some touch with them over the years and visited the village once since leaving.

A little overwhelmed, Castaneda tried to describe how her influence could matter to the students some 12 years later.

“We were a unit back then, I was involved in their lives and in the community,” she said. “I worked real hard to get the families involved, and in that year family members volunteered some 1,000 hours in the classroom.”

The tight-knit aspect of the village environment also meant it was hard for Castaneda to leave the job at the end of the school day and go home. She often opened her home to the students and their families.

“They came over to play games, plant flowers and bake cookies,” Castaneda said.
Alakanuk’s commencement ceremony for graduates Joel Buster, T.J. Damian, Pearl Ann Gregory, Catherine Harry, Catrina Harry, Vernon Immamak, Cherylann Joe, Steve Kameroff, Vincent Kassock, Eric Konst, Gary Murphy, Franki Phillip and Sonya Stanislaus took place on Friday, May 9. Castaneda needed to arrive in the village the day before for a special dinner recognizing the graduating class.

Castaneda flew from Anchorage to Aniak to St. Mary’s to Emmonak to Alakanuk. Oh, and the students assisted in picking up the travel tab.

“I didn’t know until I got there that the students organized and ran a basketball tournament to raise money for my trip,” Castaneda said.

Castaneda was told the students invited teams from three other villages to participate in the tournament. She said enough admission fees were taken and concessions sold to offset the cost of the trip.

The teacher didn’t return to her students empty handed. Besides toiling over and writing a speech for the ceremony, Castaneda made each student a button featuring her smiling face that read, “My kindergarten teacher loves me.” She also made cards with a class picture from 1996.

The graduates reciprocated with written memories of kindergarten.

Konst remembered sitting in a circle and singing songs. He couldn’t believe how fast everyone learned the tunes. A lot of the students shared thoughts about the fear of attending “the big school.”

Kassock closed his writing with this: “(Colleen) was my first teacher, and I still remember her telling all of us that if we worked hard and came to school every day, that we’ll do (well). I listened, and guess what?

“I’m graduating tonight.”

A couple hundred people filled the Alakanuk school gymnasium for the commencement ceremony. More than 10 years removed from living in the village, Castaneda stood before all of Alakanuk and the students that meant so much to her and gave her speech.

Here’s the last paragraph:
“Community of Alakanuk, I love you and the memory of you and those who have gone before you will always be celebrated! I cherish the years with you, and thank you for touching my heart!”

A few weeks have passed since Castaneda’s trip. The graduates’ diplomas have been distributed, the pictures taken and the hugs shared. But for the teacher, the idea that the moves she made in and out of the classroom so many years ago had such impact will always be memorable.

“We celebrated their goals and the skills used to reach them,” she said. “There is just no description to how much this experience has touched me.”

Matt Nevala can be reached at (907) 348-2480 or toll free at (800) 770-9830, ext. 480.