(edited slightly for clarity)

ROCKY BARNETTE: Somebody I adore a great deal: Sandi with the Fairbanks Education Association, and so much more! Sandi, I’m gonna put you on the spot: How are you?

SANDI RYAN, FEA PRESIDENT: I’m great, how are you Rocky?

RB: Well, good. I don’t get to see you enough, I feel like. And, now, I forgot to mention this: Teacher of the Month. I’m looking for an April winner.

SR: Oh, yeah, we’ll have those names for you.

RB: Okay, good, good, good, alright. So not yet?

SR: No, not quite yet. We’re meeting tomorrow.

RB: Oh, well, you threw me off.

SR: I know, we had to move the meeting. But, yeah, we’re meeting tomorrow. We’ll have them for you tomorrow afternoon, tomorrow evening?

RB: Alright, good deal. Stay tuned for that. And you can still nominate teachers. We’re looking for May, and, I will tell you, Sandi, I have such a great time with this, and thank you guys for being a part of it. You know, when you think about just great teachers in general, and throughout our lives, so many great ones have come and gone, and been there. This year, in particular, was so different that I think it was…you get a whole new appreciation.

SR: Sure do. And you know what today is, don’t you?

RB: It is…what?

SR: It is May the Fourth.

RB: Yes! That’s right!

SR: May the Fourth be with you! And it’s Teacher Appreciation Day!

RB: You know what, and I had that on my calendar, so happy, happy Teacher [Appreciation Day]! I appreciate teachers all year round, but all the more so today. So, May the Fourth be with you.

SR: May the Fourth be with you.

RB: We were talking about that, too—is it always on May 4th? We weren’t sure.

SR: No, it’s usually the second week in May, and so it just happened to fall the way it did this year. So that’s exciting.

RB: Well, good deal. So, I know that now with next fall I’m kind of anticipating something for A.J.’s senior year, that it’s going to be a bit more…I guess “normal”, if you will. They’re going to be, hopefully, back in the classroom.

SR: Boy, I tell ya, every single teacher out there would love to have those classes full, you know? We love the interaction, we love having our kids in front of us, we love being able to go on their field trips, and be able to have recesses with other classrooms, and all the things that are why we became educators. We love our students, for sure.

RB: And if you haven’t done so already, please let’s get vaccinated, because I think that’s a big step to us getting to this next level, where we need to be. But again, that’s the plan, to be back in school, everybody, hopefully, cross your fingers, have that going…

If somebody maybe they took their kids out of school, they need to re-register to get in?

SR: Right, well, what we’re doing is—staffing is being determined based upon the number of folks that we’re going to have in the classroom, and so making sure that you let your school know that you’re coming back in person, or if you’re still going to try that eLearning that’s being expanded to elementary schools next year, as well, make sure that the district knows—and that's at k12northstar.org—or let your school know directly and they can make sure that you’re counted.

RB: Yeah. And that's what I did. I called the school and said, “Hey, I just want to make sure we're all set to go,” and so on. And they said, “Boom!”

SR: Boom! I mean, it's easy as pie, and it also helps determine where staff is located, because we follow our kids. And so teachers and support staff will go where we're needed. And so if School A needs fewer staff this year, but School B needs more, then that's where the staff is going to be. So that's an important consideration, as well as where they're actually located. And knowing that early is really helpful to those educators.

RB: Yeah. I mean, knowing that you've got that job and you're ready, you're prepared. And I think we've been through this before where I remember a time—I think I was telling you about it—I think it was with Ryder where they came in, whatever that transition was, they didn't have the numbers there. And so when the school year started, there weren't enough teachers, basically, to go around. You and I have talked—nobody wants overcrowded classrooms.

SR: Absolutely.

RB: Right? It's not good for anybody. And we want to make sure that we're good to go. So even though now, like, I'm thinking about all the summer “honey do list” things. But, besides that, all the fun summer things we want to do, not thinking about school, but just take a few minutes to take care of that now.

SR: Exactly. Easy. It's easy, will only take a couple of minutes. Schools are open. The district office is taking your calls. So you can call 452-2000, or you can go to k12northstar.org or call your schools directly and let them know that your kiddos are coming back next year.

RB: You've made it so easy for us. We appreciate that, Sandi. So what can you tell us? Give me one big summertime thing. It has to be fun. It can't be like house stuff. [laughter] Maybe that's fun for some people, it's not for me. Give me one fun summer thing you're going to do this year.

SR: I am going to not answer my phone or emails for a whole week. That is my planned summer fun.

RB: Now, I will tell you, for folks who don't know you, that is going to be incredibly challenging. And I'm going to find out what week she's planning on doing that because I'm going to bug her. I'm going to see if she gets back to me. So that'll be fun.

SR: Yeah. I'm not sharing the week.

RB: It's like, she’s just M.I.A. Well, good for you, because I know you're probably glued to that…I won’t say 24/7, but quite a bit.

SR: Well, I think it's important to stay connected, but I think there's also a time to be disconnected and so I'm going to carefully plan that week and just be disconnected for a little bit.

RB: In college I remember they did this—it was media deprivation, so you wouldn't have any of these sorts—of course, there were a few choices back then, too. So that's, like, crazy. I can't imagine. You're still going to listen to the show, right?

SR: Oh, absolutely.

RB: Okay. Good. Sandi with the Fairbanks Education Association. Always a pleasure. Now, don't you be a stranger now. This is our first time back in studio so it's good to have—

SR: It is exciting to be back in studio, that's for sure.