Burchell principal is finalist for national award

WASILLA — Principal Adam Mokelke is leading Burchell High School students to success with pride, and people are starting to notice.

The National Association of Secondary School Principals announced recently that Mokelke is one of six finalists for the 2015 National Principal of the Year award. The award is given annually to one principal who exemplifies the qualities of effective school leadership. Each finalist will receive a $1,500 grant and the national winner will receive an additional grant of $3,000. The money will be used “to improve learning at the school.”

Although principal Mokelke said he felt honored when he received a phone call from Virginia with the news, he was also “stunned” and a bit uncomfortable.

“At first I really struggled with it, because people don’t get into education for personal accolades,” Mokelke said, “but this is so good for our kids. (The award) reflects positively on the kids, the staff, and all the work we do.”

Mokelke grew up splitting wood and hauling water at a remote trapping cabin in McGrath, where his mother worked as an educator for the community and their family using the approved home-school curriculum. As an educator, Mokelke worked in the Lake and Peninsula School District in southwest Alaska for 11 years before coming to Burchell.

“Adam brought a fresh viewpoint, (but) he’s done a great job keeping the overall culture of the school (as well),” Language Arts teacher Paul Morley said. “He’s very skillful at prioritizing what’s really working and should be left alone or supported and what could use tweaking.”

Morley also fills the role of acting principal when Mokelke is away.

Colony Middle School principal Mary McMahon said that, in years past, a school’s academic ranking was more heavily emphasized as a determinant for Principal of the Year and similar award recipients. This could be one reason the school — and its principal — may have been overlooked or even looked down upon previously by some people as a school that was not academically competitive, McMahon said.

“Our best principals have to be in the most challenging schools,” she said. “In our district, he (Mokelke) has a really challenging school population that requires leadership from the heart, and he has a big heart.”

For example, McMahon recalled Mokelke’s effort to find suits for young men to wear at Burchell’s prom dance by connecting with people in his personal network.

“He goes out of his way to really change kids’ lives,” McMahon said. “Nobody’s perfect, but Adam is exceptional because of what he stands for. He influences lives over time, not just throughout high school.”

Morley agreed.

“He’s very personable,” Morley said. “He takes time to learn people’s names and demonstrates that he cares about them. He bends over backward to keep kids in school.”

Part of the struggle to keep kids in school, Mokelke said, has to do with the issues they face outside of classes.

“We have the highest homeless population in the district,” Mokelke said of Burchell. “Our students have more grit and resilience than most adults have ever heard of. They’ve overcome obstacles in their lives that most adults can’t even fathom.”

Still, some students have to be turned away in certain circumstances.

“Kids who have been expelled have asked to come to our school but they can’t because we’re still a district school,” Mokelke said.

Potential students are encouraged to reapply, however, after they have taken time to “reevaluate life and consider their priorities” as necessary, Morley said.

To make the transition back to school easier — whenever it becomes possible — for those kids, Mokelke is implementing a new program at Burchell called Positive Alternatives for Continuing Education (PACE) for students who have been expelled or have long-term suspensions lasting one month or longer. In collaboration with the Division of Juvenile Justice, the program will offer courses with topics ranging from drug and alcohol use to anger management, in addition to online classes for credit recovery. Students will be taught in two portables recently installed behind the school to provide the appropriate level of separation and support from Burchell. Mat-Su Borough School District Executive Director of Instruction Lebron McPhail will oversee the administration of the program.

Another concrete example of Mokelke’s contribution to his school is the Advisory Leadership Board he created last year. Burchell teachers nominate one student from each advisory class — 13 this year, out of a projected 300-student enrollment at the school — to meet with Mokelke weekly and discuss how Burchell is doing as a whole, and how to improve it. Mokelke said he intends to consult with the students on the board regarding the use of the incoming grant funds for the Principal of the Year award.

Finalists like Mokelke will formally receive their awards during a luncheon on Capitol Hill Sept. 9 and the national winner will be announced during National Principals Month in October.

Contact Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.