Native teacher Andrea Durny on how the PITAAS program at UAS helped her to become a teacher

Below is a great article on the PITAAS program featuring our very own alumni, Andrea Durny!

The PITAAS Program, University of Alaska Southeast: Alaska Needs More Alaska Native Teachers

In this video short, Native teacher Andrea Durny talks about why she became a teacher and how the Native scholarship program, PITAAS, at the University of Alaska Southeast, helped her achieve her career dreams. PITAAS helped financially and gave her a safety net, or support group of people around her, while in college. Apply: www.uas.alaska.edu/pitaas

In Alaska schools, Alaska Natives make up 25% of the student body and less than 5% of the teaching force. PITAAS–which stands for Preparing Indigenous Teachers and Administrators for Alaska Schools–is a scholarship program with many services designed to meet its goals: more Alaska Native teachers and administrators in Alaskan schools.

Eligible students are Alaska Native students with junior or senior standing enrolled in undergraduate Teacher Preparation Programs, post graduate Teacher Certification Programs, and Graduate Certificates, Endorsements and Master of Education (M.Ed.) Programs.

The PITAAS Program can help you earn your education degree at the University of Alaska Southeast!

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private, nonprofit founded in 1980 to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars and a Native Artist Committee. Its mission is to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska.