Education alumna named Alaska Teacher of the Year and National Teacher of the Year finalist

Ask elementary education alumna Danielle Riha any question about teaching, and chances are she's got the perfect anecdote about one of her students' success to accompany her answer.

Always having her students top of mind is a testament to Riha's dedication to teaching. So it came as no surprise to her peers and students when she was named 2019 Alaska Teacher of the Year last October.

What was surprising was the announcement that came three months later in January. Riha was named as one of the four finalists for 2019 National Teacher of the Year. In late February, she traveled to Washington, D.C. with her fellow finalists for the interview process, and will go back in April when they announce the final National Teacher of the Year and celebrate all 57 nominees at the White House.

"I felt a lot of love and support and it made me feel good for our school because there's no way I could do what I do without everybody who works together for student success," describes Riha, who teaches seventh and eighth grade at Alaska Native Cultural Charter School (ANCCS) in Anchorage. "We've really made this school a family and supportive and truly the best place for kids. We've had kids come from other schools so tense and nervous and anxious that they're going to get bullied, then all of a sudden they ease into our school and love being here. It's really nice to see that transition."

Not bad for someone who never set out to be a teacher in the first place.

Born in Detroit and raised in San Antonio, Riha originally planned to pursue a career in physical therapy. Right after completing undergrad at North Texas University, Riha and a friend decided to save up for graduate school by selling everything they owned, road tripping all the way up to Seattle, and spending some time working in Alaska's fishing industry.

While on a job in Dutch Harbor, Riha was offered a side gig as a substitute teacher. Initially she was hesitant to accept the position, but the opportunity to save even more money for grad school proved too good to pass up.

"I went from substituting to a full-time aid," recalls Riha. "All the teachers were so supportive and told me I was a natural and should become a teacher. By then I had fallen in love with Alaska and teaching. So I went to UAA, got my degree, and then I went and taught in rural Alaska."

After earning her bachelor's in elementary education from UAA in 2001, Riha began teaching in Togiak and New Stuyahok. Over the next seven years, she not only learned how to teach the essentials, but how to do so while infusing core curriculum with traditional Alaska Native values and sensibilities that she learned directly from elders and community members in rural Alaska.

"Working with Jerry Lipka, who is principal investigator of UAF's Math in the Cultural Context program, Yup'ik elders, mathematicians, scientists and teachers, we worked together and brainstormed lessons based on things like subsistence activities, navigating with the stars, the different uses for kayaks, and making parka patterns without measurement tools, just really interesting stuff," says Riha.

News of Riha's teaching eventually caught the attention of Martha Gould-Lehe, B.Ed. '88, the founder of ANCCS and the person who nominated Riha for Alaska Teacher of the Year. When ANCCS was still in its planning stages, Gould-Lehe invited Riha to get in on the ground floor and help build a curriculum similar to what she was doing in Togiak and New Stuyahok.

Once again, Riha found herself hesitant to accept a new position, but reconsidered when the opportunity to live and work closer to her daughter - who was attending Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka at the time - proved too good to pass up. So in 2008, Riha moved back to Anchorage to help found ANCCS, where she's been teaching ever since.

"The idea for this school was everything I believed in, just helping kids find their identity," explains Riha. "When I first came here, I didn't realize how much prejudice there was in the public schools, especially towards Alaska Native kids and mixed kids. It really opened my eyes and made me more passionate about helping kids be happy with who they are."

According to Riha, despite the name of the school, many of the students come from a much wider array of backgrounds, not solely Alaska Native. This miniature melting pot accurately reflects its location in Mountain View, cited as the most diverse neighborhood in the country. ANCCS staff takes care to acknowledge the diverse population through cultural values and historical studies.

"Alaska Native values transcend race, religion and geographical location. Those values really cross all cultural barriers," she says. "I can't think of a family who wouldn't want their kids to respect their elders, protect the earth, or learn that education is important. All of those things are so valuable."

Written by Matt Jardin, UAA Office of University Advancement