Excitement, anxiety among Juneau students as school year begins a day late with traditions old and new
- Mark Sabbatini
- Aug 15
- 5 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
High schoolers say they’ve adjusted to changes from last year’s consolidation, but plenty of teachers and students at all schools are facing new situations and challenges
This story has been corrected to refer to Montessori Borealis at the Dzantik'i Heeni campus rather than Juneau Montessori School, which is located in Douglas.
Taylar Kubik, 10, was among the many Juneau students with mixed feelings about the first day of school as she held up an "Orion" sign outside the front entrance of Dzantik'i Heeni campus. The sign, much like the constellation, was meant as a navigational aid so her classmates knew where to gather for the traditional Wisdom Day welcoming.
"I’m excited, although I’m a little sad because it’s my last year here in this class," the sixth-grade student at Montessori Borealis said.
This is her third year as a student in the Orion class — which like all of the school’s classes are named after constellations — and she said she prefers Montessori because it is more challenging than a traditional school and "my grades have been way higher" due to her heightened interest.
Roughly 3,800 Juneau School District students — a figure based on spring estimates that will be officially revised during the coming weeks — began classes on Friday, one day later than scheduled due to a record glacial outburst flood that resulted in some school sites in at-risk areas being closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
This is the second school year under a consolidation plan enacted last year in the wake of a financial crisis, and students and teachers interviewed Friday said they have adjusted to the changes.
"It feels like we're settled now," Rick Bellagh, who as the Orion class teacher at the Montessori school works with fourth- to sixth-grade students. "Last year it felt very new and very we were tentative about it. We didn't know how this was going to work out. I think in general we are very happy."
Jessa Tucker, 15, a sophomore at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé, was another student expressing mixed feelings on Friday, stating seeing friends again is a highlight, but was less enthusiastic about resuming classes and resolving hitches such as not yet getting a school-issued notebook computer.
"I'm definitely more comfortable with the school this year, but I still don't want to go," she said. Tucker said she spent the summer working at a restaurant and a jewelry shop, and "I'd prefer to go to work."
Nathan Rodriguez, 10, a fourth-grade Harbor Elementary School student walking to school with his mom, Nicole, said he spent part of his summer vacation at Universal Studios. But he was enthusiastic about returning to class, stating his favorite subject is math even if it’s "a little challenging" and his "favorite thing for the school is lunchtime."
Escorting students across the street to Harborview as a crossing guard was Ruby Capua, a paraeducator who’s been working for the school district for 11 years. She said this is her first year at the downtown school, having been transferred from Mendenhall River Community School, and starting school a day late allowed her more time to get ready.
"We did a lot of prep work, getting the classes set up and ready, just getting all the materials ready, just lots of cleaning, there's a lot to it," she said.
Anbertin Tingey, 17, a senior at JDHS, said she went through a big change last year with the consolidation since she was at Thunder Mountain High School the previous two years. But as she walked from her car to JDHS for the first day of her final year, she said, "I like the consolidation."
"It was nice to meet all new people, make new friends, and all that," she said. One drawback, however, is "the parking lot kind of sucks" due to the lack of nearby spaces.
Unlike teachers and administrators who generally said the one-day delay to the school year meant extra time at work to prepare, Tingey said she took advantage of the slightly extended summer break.
"Yesterday I went on a hike and went outside and enjoyed the sun," she said.
As might be expected during any first day of school, there were some hitches, such as the frustration among JDHS students about parking. Some younger students had first-day anxieties about being separated from their parents. The singing, greetings and other traditions of Wisdom Day at Dzantik'i Heeni started about 10 minutes late because buses were behind schedule.
Some parents at Dzantik'i Heeni also expressed concern about a new policy that states "all students will use the restrooms nearest to the classroom they're using." The campus houses the alternative Yaakoosgé Daakahídi High School, the Montessori program whose enrollees include preschool students, and Juneau Community Charter School that enrolls K-8 students.
"Yes, we will be the only building that will have Pre-K through 12th graders using the same restrooms, but we will also have three programs and lots of additional eyes on students in these spaces, plus cameras and vape detectors," John Paul, the principal of both schools, wrote in an Aug. 13 "Montessori Minute" newsletter to parents. "I'm confident that our vigilance with our YD students (I'm also their principal) and our encouragement and insistence that they be the leaders we know they can be — will enable them to rise to the challenge of respecting the ‘mixed company’ they're in at all times."
"I've seen first hand — on hundreds of occasions — how seriously our YDHS students take their behavior when it comes to having little eyes and ears around, and I'm very confident that they will rise to this challenge."
A meeting at the campus to discuss the concerns is scheduled at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Dzantik'i Heeni, according to school officials. The Juneau Board of Education is also scheduled to meet Tuesday night at JDHS.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
