Jerry Jones worked as a lineman for Nashville Electric Service for 22 years. One day, his wife decided she wanted to teach in Alaska.

“I told her, ‘You go right ahead, I want to stay here [in Tennessee].

One day, Jones visited his wife in Togiak, an Alaskan village, and he ‘fell in love with it.’

“It’s country boy heaven: hunting, fishing, and trapping,” Jones said.  “I told her, ‘I can retire a little early and eventually move out here.’”

Once Jones returned home, the principal at Bristol Bay Region Career and Technical Education, the same school where his wife taught, offered him a job as a shop teacher. Without any prior teaching experience, Jones was hired as a Type M and moved to Togiak. A Type M certificate allows individuals to have a teaching license based on their career.

Because Jones was not getting paid year-round like other teachers, Jones decided to return to school. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Special Education and Teaching from Western Governors University in 2022.

Relating to the kids

When Jones was in trade school in 1992, he said being able to do hands-on work and then going to the classroom to do the course work helped him to relate better. As a young career technical student, Jones said he struggled with reading and had to teach himself how to navigate as a student.

“I have many students who I’ve seen struggle in the same way. With the kids out here, I can show them something hands-on and then bring them into the classroom to go through the bookwork,” Jones said. “As I was teaching CTE (Career and Technical Education), I saw how great it was for the kids.”

‘I wanted more.’

After some time had passed, Jones said he wanted to build programs and become a director. So, he started looking into the career and technical education master’s program at Ball State University, but his director told him he needed to do the online Master’s in Educational Administration and Supervision program instead.

“I decided I wanted more,” Jones said. “I looked at Ball State’s administration program and saw that it’s ranked 12* in the nation for Best Educational Administration Programs. I said, ‘That’s the one I’m going to take.”

Jones said managing his assignments and job has been hard, but he’s learned much more going through Ball State University’s online program than other principals and directors in Alaska have learned.

“I’m in my last semester now, and I’ve already signed a contract to be a director of construction trades,” Jones said.

Working at ‘the hub’ of Togiak

According to Data USA, Togiak is a small village with a population of 993. The school where Jones teaches has 55 students. Jones said that because the village is so small, everybody knows everything about everybody.

“The school is the hub, the heartbeat of the village. My wife is a principal here, and everybody comes to me and her for everything,” Jones said. “Everything is connected in a small village, so it has its challenges.”

He said that working with kids has always been a good trait of his, as he describes himself as a kid as well.

“I have fun with them, and I’m honest. I tell them how it is, tell them the truth, and we have a good time,” Jones said. “I love getting up in the morning because it’s not like work. It’s fun. I love doing this job.”

Issues in a small village

One of the biggest challenges Jones has faced while working at Bristol Bay Region Career and Technical Education is dealing with the scandalous environment of a small village without getting ‘too deep into it.’

“When you do that, you take somebody’s side, and it’s like you’re a part of the war,” Jones said. “You have to balance it, and that’s very hard sometimes.”

Drug and alcohol use at school has been a prominent issue, Jones said. Marijuana usage in adults over the age of 21 was legalized in 2014. Over the years, students have been caught smoking on school grounds.

“Kids come in here and think it’s okay to snuff, but you can’t do that in school,” Jones said.

As a construction coordinator for Bristol Bay Region Career and Technical Education, Jones works with unions for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) to offer training to kids in the village. He is also involved in addiction advocacy and recently spoke to legislators about receiving more funding for career and technical education and mental health.

“We have a lot of mental health issues out in the villages because we have a lot of drugs and alcohol. It’s different out here.”

Peace of mind

Jones goes to the Nushagak River to relax, where there’s ‘nothing but wilderness.’ He said he’d set up a tent to hunt and fish for a week.

“I get my boat, head up the river, and don’t see a soul,” Jones emphasized. “[Alaska] is really cool as long as you can deal with isolation.”

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*Ball State University’s Educational Administration program is consistently ranked in the U.S. News & World Report “Best Online Program” list.