How I Did My First (and Second) Salary Jump

To get my first salary jump, I started with my 37 credits, which means that to get to 54, I needed 17 more credits. Since I was trained out of state, my first credits were chosen for me– the six credits total you get when you complete the Multicultural and Alaska History requirements. I took the ASDN classes with Father Oleska and cannot rave about it enough. Look for more info on that in a future blog post!

My next credits were a hodgepodge of opportunities in summer and during the school year:

I did the AEA Good Teaching Institute (GTI) that usually occurs each August, and paid $89 to “take it” for 1 UAA credit. This usually involves registering online, paying the fee, and writing a reflection paper on how you will use the information you learned in your classroom. Conference credits like these are WONDERFUL ways to get credits. Of course, you have to attend all of whatever conference you go to. Information on the Good Teaching Institute usually comes out each July. This year it will most likely be online instead of in person at Bartlett High due to COVID, but this will probably make it more flexible than ever for those who don’t come back to Anchorage until the last possible second. I have always enjoyed it. When it is in person, it is free to AEA members (except the optional UAA credit) and includes breakfast, lunch, networking, and door prizes.

I attended the Keys to Life Storytelling Festival in February 2018 and signed up to take it for a UAA credit, similar to the GTI framework. Larissa Wright-Elson led the class and she is an incredible resource for CEU classes that are practical, informative, and don’t have busy work.

All secondary teachers were required to take the Youth Mental Health First Aid course in the last few years, and I opted to pay $124 to take it for 1 UAA credit.

I attended the AP Institute in August 2019 and paid $124 to take it for 2 UAA credits.

I did the Teacher Institute Seminar Series (TISS) in 2016 and 2017 to get 1 credit each year for FREE. It has changed quite a bit over the years but basically you can take any combination of TISS mini-courses to add up to 15 hours, and then fill out a google form and submit it for one AdvEd CEU credit. This doesn’t go on a UAA or APU transcript, but you are emailed a certificate you can keep in your records and it will display in MLP, which is how ASD tracks your salary advancement, anyway. You can check your email from Jennifer Knutson to find updated information on it.

I regularly troll MLP’s district catalogue looking for opportunities for interesting classes. Many ASD employees will offer a class as a way to help specific employees stay certified. My friend Dr. Jillian Gates, who was a part of the Gifted Education department before all the reshuffles offered a 3 credit “Intro to Gifted Ed” course last spring for $151. This is a heck of a deal. We met at the Ed Center each Wednesday for ten weeks and I learned some information that genuinely changed how I taught my gifted and regular students and how I reflected on my own education. Dr. Gates is an expert in this field and is such a wealth of information.

Lastly, and most importantly, I did ASD Summer Academy! ASDSA is a program usually hosted at Dimond the two weeks after memorial day each year. These are quick, in-person classes designed specifically for ASD employees, led by other teachers and district leaders, so the information is usually really practical and pertinent. Depending on the department, credits are usually inexpensive and some will even pay you a stipend when you complete the course, effectively reimbursing you for the credit. In 2019, I took 2 credits through ASDSA and both were paid for– the first by ASD’s health instruction and the other by ASD’s Academic English Learners department. Both classes were fantastic and I got some materials I could use immediately.

For 2020, the classes are all online which is a GAME CHANGER. I am taking 14 credits over six weeks, which seems like a lot, but it is mostly asynchronous, which means I can work at my own pace and get large chunks of it done over time. Most of my classes are instructed by Larissa Wright-Elson and Anya Toole, both of whom I have taken classes with before and have really enjoyed and found useful. According to the email sent by the district on 5/21 with the file from Mark Stock, there may be many more opportunities for asynchronous credits in the fall as well, so be on the lookout for those.