Colter Barnes will assume the position of secondary principal at Wrangell High and Stikine Middle schools next year. Barnes was in town this week to meet and greet with students and staff.
Future Wrangell schools secondary principal Colter Barnes was in town this weekend to see the community and look for housing.
Barnes will replace retiring secondary principal and athletic director Monty Buness Aug. 1. He's currently the traveling principal at Kokhanok and Igiugig schools in the Lake and Peninsula School system. He spent part of the weekend watching the multi-day middle school volleyball tournament at the high school.
"Cause it's always sunny here, right?" he quipped, when asked why he'd decided to come to Wrangell, a play on Friday's pristine weather.
Barnes listed a slate of educational achievements for the school system. The school system received top marks last year from the state. Stikine Middle School was the only traditionally structured middle school to achieve the five-star ranking from the Alaska Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.
"Why not?" he said. "It's a top-performing school. I think a lot of the board goals and visions align with what meshes with my style. A lot of opportunities for kids, a lot of emphasis on (vocational and technical) education. There's a lot going on here."
The most difficult aspect of the job might be maintaining high educational standards at the schools, rather than radical change, Barnes said.
"I think it's a place where I can be authentic and be myself and hopefully continue their success," he said. "They have set the bar really high."
"There's not a lot of changes to be made here – you just hopefully come in and sustain what they're doing, and maybe add something," he added.
Wrangell's reputation is so good that word of a positive impression has reached the other side of the Gulf of Alaska, Barnes said.
"I've been in the state seven years, and I talk to coaches, and they say 'Wow, the kids at Wrangell and their sportsmanship,'" he said. "Just look at their district report card. There's some good things happening here, and it's ventured down even to my communities in Southwest."
In addition to the positive accomplishments, Wrangell schools, like all schools in the state, face looming challenges. Barnes mentioned the new system of testing standards and teacher assessments in the coming year.
Despite the distance between Wrangell Island and Iliamna Lake – where both Kokhanok and Igiugig are located – the communities share some features, Barnes said.
"We fly the same flag," he joked.
"There's a strong pride in the school and the community," Barnes added. "People are proud of their kids. As far as living on the land, people get out there so they're active."
Other things are very different, he said.
"In terms of the environment, it's a very different environment," he said.
Barnes also attended a hike with sixth grade students from Stikine Middle School.
"They gave me probably the best interview I've had," he said. "I was a middle school teacher as well, and I love that age, just the fearlessness and the energy that they have."
Barnes holds a bachelor's degree from Montana State University and a masters in educational leadership from the University of Alaska Anchorage.
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