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We moved to Alaska just on time for 5th grade, and moved to Lovejoy Drive, right across the street from Wendler Jr high just before I started 6th grade at Lake Otis. Wendler was a big, scary, place to me, that I had to walk past to get to school. Some of my classmates, who had older siblings that had attended Wendler told me that it was the kind of place where if you weren't cool and didn't do drugs the other kids would beat you up, and I really, really dreaded the end of the school year and needing to start Wendler the following year.

Then, one magic day, a couple of kids from Steller (one of whom was Andy Long, I don't recall who the other was) came and talked to my class about an alternative to Wendler. An alternative where the peer pressure was to do good at school. Where there were no bells, and students were expected to get to class on time on their own initiative, where everyone was on a first-name basis, and students were expected to take a serious role in running the school and making decisions about how it works. It sounded wonderful. I took the flyer home with me, and told my mom that I wanted to go there.

She read the flyer, agreed that it sounded like a good fit for me, and did the paperwork to enroll me. In those days we were meant to do interviews to get in. However, we had already purchased tickets for my sister and I to go visit family in the lower '48 right around the time the interviews should happen, so mom called them, explained I would be out of state then, but I was really keen to go there and really, really didn't want to attend Wendler.

They let me in! Without an interview. I am so happy they did. I loved school as a small child, but Steller made me love it more. We moved a lot when I was growing, and I never really had many close friends, and was always the weird kid who spent their time reading. Till I got to Steller, where I found so many kindred spirits. We were all weird kids, and many of us loved to read. I fell in love with the school, and the emphasis on learning how to learn, and on enjoying life as you do, and on taking responsibility for your own education. I thrived in the freedom I was given, and loved every minute of it.

It was Steller that introduced me to the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), through the household Purwydd. Our household had 35 members (which, for a school of 200 students, was quite good), and after a few months of attending our weekend revels in medieval costumes they explained to me about this weird group of Adults who do this, too, and took me to an event. At which we danced, a long, complicated dance involving walking to the music in patterns (Hole in the Wall). I was hooked!

I was very sad to graduate and leave Steller behind, though I took the SCA and my love of learning with me, and have made a career out of it. 10 years full time study before I let them graduate me with a bachelor of science in geology. 5 years full time study for my master of science in geology. A few years off from university, during which I did a certificate in massage therapy, before I started the PhD in geology (another five years), during which time I found out that there are interdisciplinary researchers who use geochemistry to determine what quarries garnet jewellery from the Merovingian period came from, and I wondered if I could someday combine my hobby and my research.

Some years later I started a half-time second PhD doing just that--studying viking age soapstone to try to match artefacts with quarries. Six years later I am finishing up the Master of Philosophy degree that turned into, and wondering where my research will take me next.

I am still active in the SCA, and still in touch with many old friend from Steller, and hope to get in touch with more through my virtual attendance of this event from my home in northern Sweden.

--Riia Marie Chmielowski

(or Kareina when in medieval or Viking style clothing)

class of 1984

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Steller Secondary School was a revelation to my 7th grade self in 1982. From day one I felt seen, recognized as a valuable, creative person. I went through many tough times in my teenage years. I am not sure I would have made it through without the support that Steller provided. My advisor, Bill Orme - wise and kind -  always seemed to provide a listening ear, encouragement in athletics and even help to get my first job.

Encouragement and empowerment were central threads in every class. In Suzy Taylor’s Language Arts class, as 7th and 8th graders we learned Robert's Rules of order to manage our classtime, to decide how we would be graded and to organize bake sales to fund the pizza parties we orchestrated for ourselves. This student centered approach taught us the vital life skills of group decision making and effective communication.

Life Experience Class taught by Terry Taylor in the mid 80’s was invaluable. Offering a safe space for open conversations about real life challenges. Weekly guest speakers shared their personal stories , giving us perspective, showing us a variety of life choices and that overcoming our obstacles was possible.

Steller also pioneered Seminar classes in Alaska in ASD in the 80’s - thanks to educators like Ken Zeighan who emphasized critical thinking and communication through the Socratic method and study of the classic Great Works.

Students were highly involved in school governance, with the advisory board of parents, teachers, and students being the primary community decision making body. Students participated in hiring committees for teachers and in crafting school policies alongside parents and teachers. Students called school meetings to talk through the issues of the day. We had the freedom to decide when to attend classes or not. Sometimes we failed and we were supported to learn from those experiences.

My son Caleb’s experience at Steller confirms that while some things have changed the essence of Steller - it’s commitment to student empowerment and community remains unchanged. Today, Steller’s spirit endures through student engagement, teacher support, Passage classes, Intensives and group travel. While there’s more structure now for students, the focus on responsible freedom and community building remains strong.

GO JAYS - and unofficially - GO Silverfish!

Carla (Kylara) Hollingsworth

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Favorite Courses in High School

I started High School at West High School in Anchorage Alaska and luckily soon after found out about a new alternative High school called Steller. That saved me. Even though I did have an outlet in theater, the atmosphere at West was pretty toxic. I would have headed down a rocky road.

Once I got accepted into Steller and started classes it took me a while to get used to the way it was there. It was very laid back and you had to be self-motivated in order to get your work completed. It was more like college and it took me a semester to get the hang of it.  I of course took many classes, but a few really stood out. Since our school was so small starting out (about 150 students), we had very limited resources.  (I remember our tables were made from old doors so there was a hole where the doorknob should be.) We didn’t have any organized sports so that you could participate in sports at other schools and log your hours for P.E credits. You could also log hours for many activities and get credit for them. You would have to set up a contract and objectives etc. and then log hours and get someone to sign off for you. Many of us would go skiing with one of our teachers (Ken Manning) who had a cabin down at the resort.  He would meet with us down there and then we would all separate and ski all day and then at the end of the day he would sign us off.  He was our science teacher, but everyone had to be flexible.

I did that for one semester and then I got into ballet. The rest of my time at Steller I got P.E credit from ballet classes. I had more than enough hours logged since I took several classes a week and on top of that I had rehearsals and performances. I probably should have got some art credits for that too.

I remember Margo Morgan, our art teacher, had a great class. The way she always tried to get more from you, push you, was inspiring. So many Stellerites were fantastic artists (Louise Johnson, John Redding) and she worked with us all. She also did many other classes and one in particular sticks in my mind. It had something to do with Society and Media, was a large class and the heated debates were well orchestrated. I remember my final project was a slide show with some spacey music by Jerry Garcia. My friend Perry and I came up with a technique of making slides from images in magazines and he helped me make what seemed like hundreds of them. Quite a process.

Margo was also integral in our exchange program with a small Inuit village, Nuiqsut. About 19 students would host a group of students from the village and then the next spring we went and stayed with their families. That trip changed all our lives and some of the friendships are still alive today.

Another great class was Oral History, where we would go out and interview old timers and get some great stories of Alaska that we compiled. I’d like to read some of those now.

I’ll have to say for all the variety of classes that I remember, the one that sticks out and still influences my life is a class called “My Favorite Music”.  The class thought up and taught by Bob Reid, was pure genius. Each person in the class (and it was a popular class) including Bob, would make a presentation to the class of a special piece of music, an artist or genre. We had to do a little research on it, where it came from, how it affected the people of the times that it was popular, and also tell what and why it affected us. All the people in the class would take notes and then write about how that particular artist or piece influenced. It was teaching us speech, research, writing, analyzing but mostly, music Appreciation with a capital A.

I was lucky and had spent my summer down in Eugene Oregon staying with my brother who was into folk music (used to play the coffee houses in the 60’s ) He was taking a course in the Blues and turned me onto lots of music. He also taught me some guitar picking of Mississippi John Hurt, so when I came into My Favorite Music with that under my belt I was able to turn Bob Reid onto some unfamiliar music, which was huge because he was “The” Blues man. (I believe Blind Blake was one of them) Bob turned us on to lots of Blues (also taught us the blues on guitar as well) but he was into all kinds of music. With input from Bob and our fellow students, a vast world of music was expanded in front of us.  Classical, Rock, Folk, different kinds of Jazz and Blues were all shared and discussed. It opened up our minds to the pleasures of every genre and opened our hearts to the beauty and complexity of music. A lot of that was because of his pure, vital and genuine appreciation and love for all music.

I still keep in touch with Bob and he is still turning me onto new music (Jacob Collier). I tell him how much he has influenced me and recently during a quarantine Zoom session I met a young musician who asked me if I knew any rappers (it seems that he writes in that genre often) I told him my high school teacher turned me on the an original who was rapping back in the early 70’s. He was totally amazed, and I was able to pass on Bob’s inspiration once again. I told him to look up Gil Scott Heron’s “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” and the next time I saw him he thanked me profusely. I told him “Thank Bob”.

It was only weeks or a month later that we took to the streets for the Black Lives Matter protests and at one of the marches they were playing Gil Scott Heron’s piece and my two kids looked over at me in amazement. I had clout with my 20-year-old kids at 60. (Thanks Bob!)  I told Bob about it when he gave me his biannual Solstice day call, he laughed and was proud that his “Grand Students” were out marching. He was also glad that “The Revolution will not be Televised” was an anthem for another generation.

Bob gave us all an amazing gift that lives with each us to this day (over 45 years later).  I know my life has been a richer one because of the way I look at and hear music.

Thanks Bob!

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May I ask who wrote the "Favourite Courses in High School" post? You are clearly from before my time at Steller, as Bob was gone before I started, but you share enough of yourself in the post that I would love to meet you.

--Riia

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Steller saved my life. From my very first day in the old building at 11 years old in 1981, starting 7th grade.

I learned about decency, honesty and trust; things that had been in short supply in other areas of my life. I learned about social and civic responsibility and being part of community. For the six years I was at Steller until I graduated at 17 in 1987, it was the most stability I had ever had in my life.

I absorbed the cumulative positive effect of all the hundreds of people I met through Steller, through all the little (big) things day-to-day:
* Calling teachers, faculty and staff by first name;
* No locks on the lockers;
* No alarm bells between classes, or ever;
* The bricks in the walls gave a comfort as I ran my fingers over their edges and grooves while walking the hallway;
* The tacit permission by the adults to let the kids find their limits and self-manage, even if it was at a different (higher) threshold than most adults are typically comfortable with;
* The older kids being mostly decent to the younger kids (I learned later because some of the teachers had suggested that to them as a guiding principle…);
* Everyone being willing to call me Bert;
* The ability to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes without fear of (too much unrelenting / undeserved) mockery or shame;
* The community holiday dinners;
* The dances - Time Warp and Should I Stay Or Should I Go always got everyone moving together;
* Even the community meetings ;)
* Crawling through the pipe underneath the school in the back - the utilidoor to under the school - if you know, you know, and it was amazing!;
* The spectacular murals in both the old and new buildings;
* In the original building the theater stage and gym all in one hold lots of memories;
* In the new building, the gym with carpet, hey!
* The weights rooms in both buildings had many good days with friends;
* The dark room, where I learned so much about developing film, making a mess and working together;
* All the work behind the scenes to sustain the community that I could not imagine then;
* The dressing up and dressing down;
* So much playfulness and silliness;
* Being comforted when crying;
* The creativity of photography and stained glass and theater and dance and sports and more art;
* Family Living class with Terry;
* Learning to free-write journal and write poetry with Suzy;
… these things and so much more… it all saved my life.

Thank you to all the parents who worked so hard to create Steller to begin with, all the people who came afterward to keep the flame of this more humane educational model alive. Thanks to all the teachers and friends who spent thousands of hours with me. If I list each teacher one by one and one memory each, this will likely go way too long… But I remember a lot of specifics and apply so much in my life.

Thank you Ruby for taking good care of our school and community, especially after that one time when I threw up on the bathroom floor, sorry about that…

Thank you Dean for instilling in me my love of science (experiments with fire extinguishers!) and the beauty of chemical equations. I couldn’t keep up with the other kids in the class, but I still loved the language of pre-chem.

Special thanks to Suzy and Terry for being the parents I never had, being in touch with me all these 40+ years, teaching me morals and ethics and honesty.

Much love to you all. Go Silverfish, go Steller Jays!

Celia Joyce de Mello

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Do you remember the early fall of September,

New methods of learning were educating the minds of the students and the Quik Stop was just a short walk away…..

I began my learning journey during the 3rd week of September 1976 after a series of bullying events that caused my parents concern (I later became friends with her in college 😀).

My first day I felt like I was right where I was supposed to be. I knew two people. One guy I went to Ocean View elementary with, and the guy who’s dad told my parents about Steller. I followed Tate Hayes around like a lost puppy as I took in the new environment. My first observation was that there were no lockers, but I could choose a cupboard in Mary’s classroom to put my Trapper Keeper. This was HUGE for me because my inability to use a combination lock was and still is my nemesis. My second was wondering why people were spitting in Coke cans, but that’s a story for another day.

I quickly assimilated into the Steller family and I began to become the person I am today.

In Community Involvement (CI) I learned the importance of volunteering in the community , though according to my recently found report cards, I was not very good about writing my weekly reports on the experience.

In Family Group I learned about the value of small group work to improve the quality of the bigger system of learning at Steller. We as the students, had a voice in the process and learned how to become change agents.

I watched my peers teaching classes, and found new ways of learning.

It was also through my time at Steller that I found out I had dyslexia. Dear sweet Norma Fuller changed my life’s trajectory with the Slingerland technique, and created new opportunities for my life.

I learned about the political process (from registering to vote, to campaigning, to voting) in a very competitive election that brought about the first female president of the United States of Steller (Pepin/Evans all the way!).

Most importantly, I met and learned about life with great people.

I remember going to 6th grade classes and promoting Steller to prospective students. “ We are seen as individuals and not just numbers and supported by the teachers to be the best version of ourselves “ was a common refrain I would say to promote our great school.

I truly believe that the experiences and connections I made while at Steller formed the foundation for the person I am today. I am grateful for the opportunity to share some of my highlights with you, and look forward to reading others letters.

For now I must get my knees in shape in case Brendan plays Rock Lobster at the Time Warp dance…

Polly-Beth (Harris) Odom

1976-1982

Go Silverfish!!!

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I will never forget the way I felt in seventh grade debating the morality and decision-making of the characters in "The Ones Who Walked Away From Omelas" by Ursula K Le Guin with 20 of my 7th and 8th grade peers in 1995/96. I remember feeling alive, thinking this is it, this is education, this is exactly what college will feel like. I am surrounded by people willing to be seen learning, who ask questions to really hear the answers because they want to know.

Did I think those exact thoughts with those words then? No. But I felt it. The aliveness of seminar, of actually paying attention to the words our elders wrote so that we didn't miss a thing as we took the torch and moved it forward as the next generation of humans stewarding the ship of humanity. To grow up and find out not everybody had to have these talks in their English classes while going through puberty, that they did not in fact read The Republic like I thought all people had to because I did, that was a shock to say the least to my younger twenty self.

Steller set me up to navigate my way through life at my own speed. It set me up to go after things that inspired me, knowing that I would learn everything I needed to know if I just kept following where inspiration led me. I have traveled the world, and I continue to travel for joy and work both. I have delivered babies in homes during snowstorms in rural Alaska, and I have spoken at national conferences on maternal mortality. I train students in 24 states and from four different countries on emergency birth measures and I mentor and precept students nationally. I get to work remote, I get to travel, I play as a way of living. I love my life, I love my family, I am in love with what opportunity life has afforded me. My life amazes people, all the things I get to do on any given normal day. Steller gave me that. It is because of Steller that I have my impeccable for me life, lived on my own terms and in service of what I came here to be, see, do, stand for and believe.

To the students who are currently enrolled - be weird, be willing to go there, be so brave and ask the right and the wrong questions, know thyself and trust that if life led you to this school, you have amazing things in store for you. You may be called to stand for things you never thought people would question as right and true, especially in human rights, and you may find yourself torn and bloody and lonely for it, left by those you thought would do the same for humanity, the same for you. Do not fear. Do not despair. Look within and to those who are still helping. Be oriented by your knowledge, be malleable to relearning, be critical in your thinking and resolute in what you bring. Be known for what you stand for. This is what we are amazing at, my Steller friends and cousins. Being known for what we stand for. Not everybody gets this upbringing, the launching pad that Steller brings, the opportunity of a self-directed life. You can do this. Trust yourself and be that person that is willing to be seen making a difference just by being who they came here to be. Read these stories, be inspired, be the next to add to the book of our tales. We can't wait to cheer you on and see you fly.

With love, Jessica Johnston, Jessica Rockhill maiden name, class of 2001

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Steller Secondary School.

50 years ago we were still moving into the “New” school we named Steller, after George Wilhelm Steller, a naturalist with the 1740 Bering Expedition. Steller documented dozens of species of plants and arctic animals, which included the Steller Sea Eagle, Steller Jay, Steller’s Eider, and Steller Sea Cow. Flash forward to today, when Mr. Steller can claim a very successful secondary school named after him.

Amazing how Steller School has stood the test of time. 52 years ago it was conceived by the Committee for Alternative Secondary Education (CASE) as a a new idea, worthy of trying. When the Anchorage School  Board  approved the idea, it was established as a “pilot” program. Obviously it has been well piloted, and it remains more than afloat. My year at Steller was formative. I have sent two photos documenting the birth of Steller. And I sent a 1975 photo of the invitation and the program for Steller’s first High School Graduation, the Class of 1975.

Next year we will be hosting a 50 Year Class Reunion for the Class of 1975, at various locations in Anchorage (TBA), June 20, 21, and 22. If you would like to receive information about these events, or provide pictures and stories from School Year 1974/1975, please contact me,

Odin Brudie at obrudie@gmail.com. We will set up a Facebook page in the near future. I wish I could be there for this weekends 50 Years of Steller celebration; alas I cannot.  Here’s to the next 50 years.

Odin Brudie (Steller Class of '75)

Juneau Alaska

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I am forever grateful to have spent my high school years at Steller and my mind overflows with amazing memories of my time there- the classes that taught critical thinking, student taught classes, Counseling Groups, Spanish class and yearbook with Nina, doing the Time Warp at school dances, the years we got fancy and had prom at the State Museum, talent shows (who could forget a now famous musician singing Tracy Chapman), Biology trips with Nancy, the fantastic murals, Holiday Dinners, Steller Olympics, and last day of school at Birchwood. The halls of Steller were always lined with kindness and acceptance paving the way to happiness and confidence.

Steller made me a better human because it taught me the importance of thinking for oneself, taking personal responsibility, and not being judgemental.

Long live Steller!

Amra (High) Custer, Class of 1989

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Steller was one of the highlights of my life, not just my education. I gave and received countless hugs. Learned to be self-reliant and creative. Work towards a collective goal. Got to know Robert's Rules of Order.

The friends I met 40+ years ago are still in my life. Many, many good memories. Thank you Steller for being such a special place.

--Freda Nicholson Wood