On Wednesday August 30th, Kawerak Board, staff and the Shishmaref community came together to celebrate the new Head Start Facility Grand Opening. We are so excited for this building to be a reality and to be together to celebrate it!
Everyone gathered in the classroom to begin the celebration. Kawerak Shishmaref Board Representative Johnson Eningowuk offered a welcome and prayer. Attendees also heard from Board Chair Frank Katchatag, President Melanie Bahnke, and Head Start Director Deb Trowbridge. The Shishmaref drummers and dancers performed in honor of the occasion. The ribbon was cut by Kyle, a recent Head Start graduate who started in the immersion program when he was just 7 months old!
The ribbon cutter Kyle was a student in the Head Start program since he was just 7 months old and graduated in 2023.
Dancing under the Northern Lights
Highlights from the new building included the Northern Lights LED feature in both classrooms, a significant symbol for the community, as their local school team name is the Shishmaref Northern Lights. Along the porch rail you can see the different animals represented in the Kawerak logo, reminding us of our connection to the region. The playground itself boasts of regional animals and themes as well, including a dog team, walrus and seal sculptures, a boat complete with binoculars, and a flower design often seen in the beautifully made Shishmaref ivory and baleen bracelets.
The Northern Lights feature that encircles the classroom
Our Kawerak Board Executive Team ready to lead the way on the playground boat.
Kawerak Head Start Team, Shishmaref and Program staff.
Youth enjoying the dog team on the playground
The Head Start facility houses 2 Head Start classrooms, 1 Early Head Start classroom, a kitchen, office spaces, and an outdoor playground. With its 5,200 square feet, it now has the capacity to provide services for up to 58 children! Currently, there are 22 three to five year-old children enrolled in the Head Start classrooms and 8 birth to two-year-old children in our Early Head Start and Home visiting program. We look forward to seeing this program (and the kids) grow!
This project began with funding from the Office of Head Start in the amount of $8.2 million to construct a new facility. Kawerak had the opportunity to utilize the CMGC process of contracting. This allowed us to bundle projects into a single contract process where Kawerak, Coffman Engineers, and ASRC SKW Eskimo, Inc. could include and complete multiple Kawerak projects co-currently. From this the team was able to develop a long-working relationship and, as a team, identify solutions and savings for the projects. Construction officially began in the summer of 2021 with ASKRC SKW doing the construction. As construction costs escalated due to COVID-19, the originally budgeted amount for the facility fell short to cover the project. At that point the Kawerak Board of Directors authorized just over $500,000 toward the project. Additionally, the Rasmuson Foundation generously contributed $450,000 to purchase furniture, fixtures, equipment, water piping, and a standby generator to ensure the Head Start had access to a safe and continuously operable space with running water. We are very grateful to the Shishmaref Native Corporation for the many years of leased space in the building we previously occupied and now a low-cost ground lease for the land on which our new facility is built.
Prior to this new construction, the Head Start classrooms and the Immersion classrooms were housed in separate buildings in different parts of town. This presented challenges in itself, but the main issue was the lack of running water and sewer for the Early Head Start Immersion classroom, the lack of a certified kitchen in both facilities and the needed constant maintenance. With the new building, our staff and kids can focus on what they do best…. teach and learn!
With this expansion in space, we also received funds to expand our team with three new positions! We are pleased to welcome back Mamie Iyatunguk in our new Family Advocate position, Alfred Kiyutelluk in our new Cook position, and we are currently recruiting for a part-time Maintenance/Laborer Assistant. When all positions are filled, Kawerak Head Start will provide 13 local jobs for the community of Shishmaref. We are also grateful for the partnership with BSSD which provides our four-year-old classroom with a certified teacher.
Combined, Kawerak’s Head Start staff in Shishmaref have approximately 85 years of experience in the Head Start and Early Head Start programs. We estimate that approximately 270 children and families have benefited from the services Kawerak Head Start provides in Shishmaref since the services began.
Kawerak Head Start Shishmaref Team
