Profile: Acting CRSD Superintendent Theresa Laville
Glennallen Elementary School, Copper River School District
Michelle McAfee - CRR Staff
Within weeks of taking a new job as the assistant superintendent for the Copper River School District, Theresa Laville found herself holding the acting superintendent position after Thérèse Ashton left the post in July. No stranger to change and movement, Laville stepped in to fill the temporary vacancy. She took a few moments out of her busy week as school gets started again to share some background with us.
Laville moved to Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands, at age four from Dominica, West Indies, where she was born. She received what she called a “basic education” in Saint Thomas, but when it was time to attend college, she needed remedial classes in English and math. The first year of college was a struggle, and Laville, at that time, had no interest in pursuing education as a career.
She earned an English degree, and in her fourth and last year of college, was unsure what to do with it. A friend suggested she try education classes. At first, she hesitated, but gave education a try, and fell in love with it and the positive impact she was having on students’ lives.
Laville’s teaching career began at James Madison High School in Vienna, Virginia.
“I don’t remember the first day, but oh my goodness, I came to life the second day as if it was where I always needed to be!”
She was determined to know all the students’ names by the end of the second day. It was important to Laville to develop a connection, a relationship with her students.
Some of those students went to college, and a few called or sent her messages thanking her for what she taught them and how she prepared them for the rigorous learning in college.
“I told all of my students, ‘It doesn’t matter what you want to be at the end of high school as long as you are the best at what you do, and you don’t hurt anyone to get what you want in life.’ I wanted them to know they can have anything if they put their hearts into it.”
“From then on, I continued with my passion and belief in education because I was getting the support of parents and the community, so I thought I must be doing something right.”
Nine years later, she returned to Saint Thomas and taught for three years before moving to Savoonga on Saint Lawrence Island. Laville said it was her first time being in Alaska and the first time she truly became a teacher.
Savoonga was a different environment with different kinds of challenges. Laville said she worked on meeting the students where they were and revamped how she was teaching and reaching students.
“One way it happened was Tea Time, which is amazing because that helped develop a relationship with my students. Sharing a little bit of my culture and learning about their culture was important to them. Because of that connection, they did the work I knew they could do.”
Laville introduced her students to Nathaniel Hawthorne, Wordsworth, Shelley - all classical writers, and they loved and enjoyed it, she said. She helped them connect with those works by talking about the culture and life during those times. Some students had big worldly dreams, and others dreamed of staying in their community. Laville encouraged all of them equally.
“I told all of my students, ‘It doesn’t matter what you want to be at the end of high school as long as you are the best at what you do, and you don’t hurt anyone to get what you want in life.’ I wanted them to know they can have anything if they put their hearts into it,” said Laville.
On the last day of school in Savoonga, one student trailed the others, walking out of the classroom. It was the student Laville thought she could never reach. A few minutes later, that student returned and told her, “Many teachers came here, and they were fun, but you were the only one who cared about us.” Laville’s voice softened when she said, “That meant so much to me. I really did reach him. He was just quiet.”
Two years later, Laville was accepted into a writing program in Missouri and moved. The loan for the program fell through, so she stayed there working on her master’s, tutoring students from different countries, and working at the library before returning to Saint Thomas to teach for two more years, giving back to the community where she grew up.
But the calling for Alaska was there. “I needed to go back. I felt I wasn’t finished, and it’s not finished with me,” she said.
Laville returned to Alaska in 2010 and began as the Reading and Writing Trainer in Unalakleet. Her position then morphed into the English Language Arts Facilitator. She traveled every week to 13 of the 15 villages in her district. She couldn’t reach Diomede because of the distance, but served them via Zoom or Skype.
Working in Unalakleet meant traveling rather than being in school. “In 2020, I left Unalakleet because I wanted to try leadership. I wanted to try being an administrator and wondered what it would be like running my school and being in the schools again.” Laville moved to Dillingham and worked for two years as an assistant principal, then principal.
This summer, an opportunity opened up in the Copper River School District for an assistant superintendent, which would allow Laville to reunite with her husband, rather than travel to see him, and she could be in the schools again.
On July 1, Laville started at the CRSD as the assistant superintendent, but shortly thereafter was made the acting superintendent to fill the vacancy left by Ashton.
“It’s not something I was prepared for because with being an assistant superintendent, there was just so much to learn,” she acknowledged.
Laville’s strength lies in curriculum, instruction, data, and working with teachers and administrators. She has visited all the school sites since coming aboard with the CRSD to see what is and is not working and find out how she can help the schools in areas where they may be struggling.
“It is my job to ensure students are getting every single resource available and to provide an equitable education for all students”
“For that to happen, I must be out in the schools. It gives me an opportunity to watch students learn. I’m not there to evaluate teachers - that’s the job of administrators. I’m there to see how the programs are working and what I can do to support them better.”
A superintendent manages the school district and is typically more focused on the business side of the equation. An assistant superintendent assists the superintendent with whatever needs to be done, oversees grants, and ensures schools get the funding they need.
“It is my job to ensure students are getting every single resource available and to provide an equitable education for all students,” said Laville.
When asked to describe what an equitable education looks like, Laville shared a story.
Imagine three students, each standing on different boxes at different heights, trying to peer over a fence to watch a baseball game. One student is standing on a taller box and can see the game just fine. Another stands on the middle box and sees some of the game, but the student standing on the shortest box can’t see the game at all.. No matter how high they jump, they can’t see the field. LaVille said if we give those students an extra box or resource, they will be at the same level, and all of them can see the game.
It may mean some students need extra resources in the classroom. “If we can give teachers the resources to provide a smaller working group, then those students are more likely to succeed,” said Laville, who also stated that we can’t forget about the students standing on the tall box.
The school also has to provide resources to help move those students forward from where they are. Some schools are providing gifted programs and opportunities which address the needs of those students. The goal, Laville said, is to give teachers and students resources in the classroom to move all CRSD students forward.
Laville said she has already seen how teachers in this district care about students and their growth and progress. Teachers are working hard here to build solid relationships with students.
Laville’s vision for the CRSD going forward is clear. “My goal in the next five years is to make sure students can come to school, be themselves, feel safe, and have resources to move forward in life. I want to provide more opportunities and different kinds of classes that will prepare them for the business world or college. And I want all of our students to graduate on time.”
Laville is just getting started. She wants the community to know her door is always open, and said, “You are welcome to come in, talk to me, get to know me. I want parents to know I am here for them and here to support their children. I will continue to work with the administration team and teachers to build that relationship and provide ways in which the community can become more involved with the school.”
Disclosure: The Copper River School District is a Copper River Record advertiser.
