New lead teacher prepares for coming school year at Head Start

On June 1, at Sandy Churchill's retirement party from Head Start, attendees learned that fellow staff member Dawn Welch would take over as lead teacher for the preschool program.

"I actually found out the day before," Welch said.

Two months later, on Aug. 2, she was in the midst of giving a makeover to the Head Start building with the help of friends and family like her little cousin, Ava. "She likes to organize things," Welch said. "I'm like, 'I got a job for you.'"

School starts Aug. 27.

One part of the light renovation involved repainting the walls and providing new décor for the main area of the preschool. "We're going to give it a little facelift in here," she said. "Get rid of the pale pink and get some more neutral colors in here. ... I'm just hoping that when kids walk in, it's calming in here, because I want it to be a nice calming space."

Welch knows that the most challenging aspect of her new job will be to make it her own, following on Churchill's 26 years at Head Start. The new lead teacher hopes to continue to make improvements in various ways, such as building better rapport with the elementary school. "So our kids that are transitioning over to kindergarten, it's not just a one-time meet and greet," she said, adding that she hopes to have her kids interact with their future teachers in various ways.

She also wants to get more involved with the community. "Just this last year we started doing a Head Start Christmas Tree for the Hospice program," she said, which involved arranging for her class to make ornaments, with proceeds going to hospice or long-term care. "I want to continue that tradition."

Another tradition she wants to further develop is the inclusion of Tlingit and Haida culture by inviting tribal dancers and leaders to the school.

"I am not as fluent as Sandy is with our culture, so there will be a learning experience for me as well," Welch said. "Having that in our school is super important."

Welch said LeAnn Bryner, who had previously worked at Head Start for about eight years, will return to her former position as cook and teacher's aide.

Prior to her work at Head Start, Welch spent almost 11 years working in Alaska Island Community Services' Alaska Crossings program (taken over by SEARHC in 2017), which provided behavioral health counseling for at-risk youth from all over the state, using wilderness expeditions to teach communication and basic life skills.

Several years ago, Churchill began to strongly encourage her to apply for open positions at Head Start. Although Welch initially inclined was to remain where she was, she followed that encouragement, getting hired as teacher's aide in February 2022. Two days after she accepted the job and was preparing to give her two weeks' notice, she learned that Alaska Crossings was closing, effective immediately. "It was a very perfectly timed thing for me."

Churchill continued to mentor Welch at Head Start. "She took me under her wing right away and taught me her ways."

One of the things that Welch came to appreciate about working with the young kids at Head Start has been the humor in how they express themselves. "Kids are funny," she said. "I wish I would have started writing down little quotes from them ... a little memory book of quotes from the kids who have gone through the program."

"I really love being part of their first step into education," she said.