Special education teacher Jocelynne Parker joins district

After 16 years in special education and a recent year teaching in one of Alaska's most remote villages, Jocelynne Parker is bringing her passion for those needing extra support to Petersburg High School.

Parker comes to Petersburg from Houston, Texas, by way of Nuiqsut, a village of 600 people on Alaska's North Slope, where she taught PreK through 12th grade special education for the past year.

The transition from Houston to the Arctic Circle was dramatic, but Parker connected with the culture and embraced the experience. "I got to see the northern lights, polar days and nights - things you ju...