Q&A with Mat-Su Central’s new principal Stacey McIntosh

WASILLA— Stacey McIntosh is the new principal of Mat-Su Central School, replacing John Brown who’s since retired from the Matanuska Susitna Borough School District.

McIntosh recently participated in a question and answer interview to discuss her new position and her experience teaching across the Valley.

How long have you been teaching in the district?

“I came here [the Valley] in 2003… Brian and I, we taught in the village… He’s from Montana and I’m North Dakota. We moved up to have an adventure in Alaska and I thought, ‘we could do anything for a year, let’s try it.’ We’ve been here 21 years now,” she said with a laugh.

What’s it been like teaching in the Valley?

“I love the Valley. Teeland was great. I love middle schoolers. That was always fun. I didn’t think I’d ever leave there, then I got this opportunity to be an advisor at Mat-Su Central.”

How did that develop to becoming the principal?

“I did advising for five years, and then John Brown decided I would be a good leader. I’ve been told that lot throughout my life… So I was like, ‘fine, I’ll get my Masters.’ I did that three years ago. I was a half-time advisor then a half-time assistant principal and last year I was a full-time assistant principal… No other principal at Mat-Su Central has ever been an advisor. So, it’s kind of cool to have that background and know what they’re going through and what their job is. I feel like I kinda know how to help them with what they need. I feel like I look at this role differently because I did that.”

What’s it like being an advisor compared to a regular public school teacher?

“They don’t have a classroom full time every day. They’re more of a consultant… They work with like, 120 kids every year, coaching those families through how to teach, helping them pick curriculum… Every journey’s different. There’s no two stories alike... It’s cool to see what kids can do.”

What motivated you to pursue a career in education in the first place?

“I grew up with 13 siblings in North Dakota… I was one of the oldest kids, so I always had a bunch of brothers and sisters to be assertive with,” she said with a laugh. “I always had a classroom. They were always sitting in little desks and I was handing them papers. I think I was born to be a teacher. I think I’ve been doing that my whole life… helping them with homework and different things. I think it was in my blood.”

What are some of the things students taught you over the years?

“Just to be open-minded and dream big. It’s so fun to see a kid accomplish their goals. I really admire them when they work at something really young… Kids, they’re just resilient. It’s neat to see. Nothing gets them down sometimes. Even with COVID and all this junk going on, they just keep a smile on their face.”

After seeing various styles and approaches throughout your career, what traits do you think a person needs to be an effective teacher?

“Patience is very important. I believe that teachers need to know that every kid’s coming from somewhere different… All kids are going through something. If we could just walk in their shoes, people would be so much more compassionate and we wouldn’t care about the little things that don’t really matter… Obviously, teachers need to be educated and we need to know our content too, but I feel like that comes second. I feel like caring about the kids is what should happen first. When you care about them, that’s how they learn.”

What qualities do you like best about Mat-Su Central’s model?

“We really are the epitome of hybrid… We’ve been doing this a long time… The big thing we talk about is choice… We already develop it from what the parents want, what students want… I think flexibility is a big thing… One of our mottos is, ‘learning happens everywhere.’”

Is there a lot of community integration?

“Yeah, integrating with the community, it’s so neat… We’ll find them tutors in the community. We have over 300 community partners that we work with. Every student gets a $2,200 allotment and millions of that goes back into our community, which I love. They can use that allotment to take a sewing class in Palmer or they can go to karate in Wasilla… We need to learn to work together and live together.”

Anything else going on with Mat-Su Central you’d like to mention?

“We have a Fair day. This is very exciting. We are one of the main sponsors of the Fair. Aug. 30 is Mat-Su Central Day at the Fair… We’re gonna have booths at every entrance. Anybody who comes into the Fair is gonna get a Mat-Su Central stamp on their hand, which I think is awesome… It should be a fun day… We’ll do an open house too. We don’t really have that scheduled yet… I’ll give a tour to anybody. Whoever wants to come in, I’ll tour them around. I love it.”

For more information about Mat-Su Central School, visit matsucentral.org.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com