Ericka Jensen moved to Haines with her husband Brad Jensen and their 13-year-old son Milo in March.
But she didn’t move here for the job, in fact neither of them did. She said they wanted to be in Haines. They moved here after losing their home to a house fire in Illinois and they had to make a choice about what to do and where to go next.
The family visited Haines and Jensen said they fell in love. They got in touch with a real estate agent, toured a few houses while they were in town and found the one they currently live in, made an offer within weeks and that was that.
“When we arrived, we came to the school to enroll Milo and so as we were enrolling, my husband whispered ‘Oh, my wife’s a science teacher,’ and the administration materialized from nowhere,” she said. “I felt that was very fortunate, I was very fortunate that my job was open.”
Then when Roy Getchell, the superintendent, asked what Brad Jensen did “they told us in that same conversation that his job – he’s a project manager – that the borough needed a facilities manager,” she said.
The family moved up from Illinois, but they are not new to Alaska. Jensen said they have property and a cabin in the interior and have been visiting every summer for years. But after the fire, she said her son and – really – the whole family, needed a community.
“I’m so happy, so happy we’re here,” she said.
Jensen comes from a family of educators. She has a grandmother who is a teacher, a cousin who is a superintendent and her daughter is a teacher. Jensen teaches middle school science.
She said she ended up with that speciality because of how hands-on it is.
“I guess when I think of science, it’s about captivating their imaginations and getting them to not lose that wonder that they have as children and in science. Finding fabulous, interesting things and figuring them out. Asking good questions, you know, trying to become a scientist yourself,” she said. “We can get outside, we can play with it. Most kids do better when they can see something in action, it helps that learning happen.”
Jensen has a full schedule teaching physical education, social studies and science. She said she spends a lot of her day with the 17 sixth graders in the district.
When she’s not teaching, Jensen said her family likes to do things like backpack and ski and sea kayak.
“We like everything outside,” she said.