Voznesenka School Principal Ray Hillman has decided to leave school days at the end of the road behind in favor of retirement.
"When you get to be around 68, you start looking at life a little differently," said Hillman, who has been at Voznesenka for eight years.
Photo by McKibben Jackinsky
Voznesenka School Principal Ray Hillman
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Hillman and his wife, Maxine, have a total of 36 years in education. She is a retired school secretary who began working alongside her husband when the couple moved to Alaska from Idaho 23 years ago. Maxine retired when Hillman took the principalship in Voznesenka.
The couple has nine children eight range in age from 30 to 44; they adopted 18-year-old Christal a year ago and 20 grandchildren, with whom they want to spend more time.
"They're the joy of our life," Hillman said.
The decision to come to Alaska was made because Hillman "always wanted to be in Alaska." During 10 years spent in Metlakatla, he began working in school administration and received two masters degrees from the University of Alaska Anchorage, one in vocational education and one in school administration. Next, the Hillmans spent three years in Wrangell before relocating to Nuiqsut, on Alaska's North Slope. A year later, they heard about the opening for a principal at Voznesenka.
"I had no desire to be in large schools," Hillman said. "I wanted a school where we could really concentrate and make things happen. And I have always been intrigued with different cultures. When we looked over the situation at Voz, between culture and small school and the beautiful drive, we just said, 'This is home.'"
During Hillman's principalship in this small Russian Old Believer community east of Homer, student test scores have risen, as has the high school graduation rate.
"The first year I was here, we had two graduates," he said. "Now we average 10, 12."
Rather than attribute that to anything he's done, Hillman pointed to an increased consistency at the school due to school administration and staff longevity and the school's involvement in Project GRAD. He also credited community support for its positive influence on education.
"Parents are really encouraging kids to stay through at least high school and get that behind them," Hillman said of the young men and the increasing number of young women completing the 12th grade at Voznesenka. "And we've got girls going on to college. Probably a few more girls than boys right now. The girls seem to be a little freer to do that and the boys usually jump right into business with their families."
In the eyes of Sunni Hilts, who represents Kachemak Bay schools on the Kenai Peninsula Borough school board, Hillman deserves credit for changes at Voznesenka School.
"He's what an Alaska principal should be the kind of guy who can inspire kids to go out and do shop in the middle of winter even if they have no facility," she said, referring to Voznesenka's lack of building space. "He just ignores limitations and goes right ahead and zeros in on the community's desire to educate their children and the kids' desire to get somewhere, do something new."
In 2007, Voznesenka's bilingual program earned the distinction of "Bilingual Education Program of the Year," and was honored at the 33rd annual Bilingual Multicultural Education-Equity Conference in Anchorage.
"We fought to maintain the Russian language," Hillman said of keeping classes that support students' ability to speak Russian as their first language. "Consequently, by the time they get through school, they can read, write and speak both languages. I'm so proud of that."
Those efforts also earned Voznesenka recognition at the state's No Child Left Behind Conference.
"It's been great to be recognized outside for the things that we've done," Hillman said.
Donna Peterson, superintendent for the school district, also praised Hillman by pointing to student testing results.
"(Voznesenka's) achievement scores are excellent," Peterson said. "They've been presented statewide and nationally picked out with scores for doing incredibly well."
While at Voznesenka, Hillman spent two years dividing his principal duties with Razdolna School. Since returning full-time to Voznesenka, he has added teaching to his administrative duties. He facilitates online courses and teaches courses in the vocational area, such as woodworking, construction and small engine repair.
"The most enjoyable one I'm teaching is art," he said, adding with a laugh, "We have these hidden talents sometimes."
Planning to stay in the Homer area, Hillman said he has offered the district his services to train new administrators, do general consulting and fill-in as a substitute.
"I'd hate to just give up on education after all the years we've put in to it," he said. "But there's got to be time for gardening, fishing and spending time with my family."
Hillman had words of advice for his replacement.
"Take time to learn the community, learn to love the community and work with the community," he said. "That advice wouldn't necessarily be for just Voznesenka, but for everywhere. But when you're working with a culture that's a little bit different, you need to take time to look before you jump."
Having just heard of Hillman's retirement, Hilts is having difficulty picturing a new principal at Voznesenka.
"I can't even imagine how you can replace him," she said. "What big shoes to fill."
The process to find a replacement begins when Peterson meets with Voznesenka School's site council, community members and anyone else wanting to be involved at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 19.
"I hope to come away from that meeting with a possible date for interviews, a contact person in the community and an understanding for everyone of how the process works and their possible input," Peterson said.
Hillman's resignation will be officially acted upon by the school board at its meeting Feb. 4.
