Hailey Copinga-Sanders, 26, was hired last month as the new Haines School kindergarten teacher.
She and husband Jessie moved to Haines in November 2020 and registered as substitute teachers. School administrators asked her to take over the kindergarten class after teacher Jenae Larson was killed in the Dec. 2 Beach Road landslide.
“It was a very emotional couple months and still is,” Copinga-Sanders said. “It still affects some of the kids and rightfully so. But we made it work. Things are starting to smooth out, so that’s been nice.”
Originally from Utah, she moved to Montana at 13. She and her husband moved to Haines after working at her father’s fishing lodge in Excursion Inlet for four summers. She said they fell in love with Alaska and enjoy hiking, fishing, hunting and beach walking.
A Rocky Mountain College volleyball player, Copinga-Sanders was also selected to the first team of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics All-America volleyball team. As an outside hitter for her college volleyball squad, she finished with a team record of 389 kills.
“I love teaching and I love these kids,” Copinga-Sanders said. “They’re fun and curious and they still think I’m cool. They’re excited to do every little thing. It’s exciting every day. I’ve always wanted to teach kindergarten.”