'It’s not just my award, it’s a team effort': WHS Assistant Principal receives award

In a time when schools, educators, and staff are coming under increasing scrutiny, one school and community instead showed its support and gratitude for an assistant principal who has been working hard to overcome education attrition and increase community and student collaboration to create work-ready graduates from Wasilla High School.

“It’s not my award alone. There are so many people that have helped build new programs and processes for the students,” says Wasilla High School (WHS) Assistant Principal Karen Bloxom, who firmly believes that the recognition is not hers alone.

“It’s a team effort,” she says.

Bloxsom was named Assistant Principal of the Year for the state of Alaska after winning the region, one of eight sections within the state, after input and recommendations from the community and submitting an essay about the impact of leadership and change within the community.

In the 4 years that Bloxom has been working at WHS, Bloxom has had to help usher in on-line learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, something that has been interesting to observe as students adapted.

“We had half the students and social distancing. It was interesting to observe the dichotomy of on-line versus in-person learning, and the students that responded to each format,” Bloxsom says, calling that time a real learning experiment.

Pandemic aside, when Bloxsom started at WHS, she hit the ground running, implementing changes to the learning and teaching climate and culture with a monthly teacher recognition program, and for students she helped eliminate in-school suspensions and instead created a visual discipline matrix for all staff.

“The goal is for the student with the infraction to make things right with either the staff or student,” she said.

Bloxom also instituted SERVE, an afterschool and Saturday school. SERVE provides a student the opportunity to give back, or “SERVE” (clean/beautify) their school when they get a minor referral.

“This program allows students to stay in class and restore their relationship with their teacher.”

One of the programs Bloxsom is most proud of is the ERASE program. It stands for Eradicating Racism by Assisting Student Education and was created as a restorative group to help students see how their words could inflict harm, how words said in passing could impact others. In a time of increased antisemitism, racism, and violence and intolerance to the LGBTQ community, ERASE strives to change the conversation by addressing the words people speak.

“We bring students in to discuss how using derogatory language can harm others. It’s led by students in our school of all ethnic backgrounds to provide healing.” Bloxsom says during the first year of the program, she ran the group, but ERASE has been so well received that the students lead the group, and she now plays a facilitating role.

“It’s been so impactful that one student we talked to is now a member.”

Beyond that, WHS has become the only school in Alaska to be recognized as a National Coalition of Certification Center, which provides certifications that students can take directly from WHS into the work force.

“In addition to the Fire Science program started this year, we are about to begin a ground school for pilots, the lets students do the bookwork required for aircraft pilots. WHS also has the first Kuboda Diesel Tech Program, as well as Greenlee, Snap-On, and Tormach certifications. Bloxsom cites collaboration with the community as the motivation for offering such diverse work-ready programs.

“We listen to the community members and the students, to the wants and needs and have collaborated with the community to be able to offer so many programs for kids so they can walk out of high school and step into a career.”

She is also pleased with the Advance Placement program, which she supervises, and has seen an increase in the number of students taking AP tests from 119 in 2021, to 181 last year.

Bloxsom says WHS has lowered major discipline referrals (18% in 2019 to 5% in 2022), achieved high academics, provided more community and job-ready opportunities, and prepared more students for college than ever before.

“It is because of an amazing and dedicated staff that WHS is able to fulfill the needs of the community. It is powerful to see what these kids can do, and the possibilities of what schools can do with the support of the community.”

Up next is a national competition which will name three finalists, which will be announced in April, 2023.