One of the primary concerns was that of hiring teachers as openings occur at Chinook. The FEA waived a provision of its contract with the district that requires that schools hire from within the district before opening the process to new candidates. At Chinook, openings are posted districtwide, but the school is permitted to hire from outside if it does not find the right candidate from within the district. You have to understand, this is a charter that we really want to see work. And the school's four teachers Austin, McCrackin, Smith, and Keep-Barnes are conscientious practitioners who draw from research, professional experiences, group discussions, and their intuitions about effective teaching and learning.
Nothing is done by rote.
Everything we do relates to a vision for our school. We even discuss recess and how it fits in with our philosophy. A photo that appeared in a Fairbanks newspaper when Chinook was about to open exemplifies the school's nontraditional approach. The photo showed teacher Keep-Barnes standing in a sea of individual student desks stacked floor to ceiling. So they all had to be moved out.