Haines school is welcoming 11 new teaching staff members this year. Meet the last two in the third part of the series of profiles.
Lacy Fischer is the special education teacher for grades six through 12. She will be working with kids throughout the year who need help in any subject. This is her first time living in Alaska. Before moving to Haines, she was living in Minnesota. Her 23-year teaching history includes 10 years in a self-contained autism classroom with nonverbal students, 10 years working at an elementary school in the Twin Cities, and three years working in Cook County, Minn. In Minnesota, she lived in a dry cabin with solar panels and no electricity. “Technically I moved to Alaska to have running water and electricity,” said Fischer. She shares her new downtown apartment with three dogs, Tula, Mack, and Poco, who is a registered therapy dog. “I can actually bring her in and have her kind of be with the kids and hang out,” she said. Fischer said she is most excited to build relationships with the middle school and high school students. Outside of the classroom, she looks forward to riding her bike, exploring, and “figuring out the difference between the Chilkat and Chilkoot.”
Mindy Jacobsen is teaching middle school science, sixth grade social studies, and P.E this year. She came to Haines with her husband, assistant principal Jens Jacobsen, and their three kids, who will be in grades eight, five, and one. That means that it will also be Jacobsen’s first time teaching one of her own children. Jacobsen has been teaching for 18 years in both Minnesota and interior Alaska. “I’m excited to have middle school and teach all the science again. That’s what I really love teaching,” she said. Haines is the largest community the family has ever lived in, so this will also be Jabonsen’s first time having single subject classes and grade level classes. Jacobsen’s biggest worry is having way more ideas than there will be time for, but she hopes that students would be able to express what they are excited to learn, and she can adjust her curriculums accordingly. “I’m looking forward to getting to know the kids and doing a lot of different activities,” said Jacobsen. In her free time, she looks forward to hiking, exploring, and spending time with her family.