Hi Boys and Girls,

Did you know that there is a special program for teachers called the Target® Teacher on the Trail Program™? This program offers teachers a unique opportunity for a once in a lifetime adventure. One teacher is selected every year to spend 3 ½ weeks in Alaska doing presentations, visiting schools, and flying in a small plane up and down the Iditarod trail following the teams from Anchorage to Nome. During the time these teachers are the Target® Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™ they prepare lessons and they report from the trail. I bet your teachers use some of the lessons developed by the Teacher on the Trail.™

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So, how does a teacher become a Target® Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™? There is an application they have to fill out. I looked over the application and it’s the biggest homework assignment I’ve ever seen! Some teachers say that it takes months to put together all the information needed to complete the application. All the applications are due by Dec. 1 of each year. Once all the applications are received, the selection committee goes over each one and together they decide on 3 finalists. Those finalists then go to Alaska the week before the start of the race. They do a presentation at the Iditarod Teachers Workshop, have an interview with the selection committee, complete an assignment/project, go to the banquet and to the start and restart of the race. They get to meet many of the mushers and give lots of ear scratches and belly rubs to the canine athletes. When the race is over, the selection committee will select the next

Target® Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™ from the 3 finalists. What a wonderful experience for these 3 teachers.

I was very lucky to do email interviews with all 3 of this years finalists. They sound like very special teachers. Here is a little about each of the finalists:

Martha Dobson

Martha has lived in North Carolina all her life. She currently teaches 6th grade Language Arts. She says nothing has sparked her interest in the classroom like the Iditarod has. She first went to the Iditarod start in 2005. She was an idita-rider with musher Phil Morgan. She never dreamed she’d be bitten by the Iditarod “bug” but she was. She has returned to the Iditarod start every year since then. When asked about using the Iditarod in her classroom, Martha said, “It is amazing to me that teaching brought Iditarod and me together. I want to bring a new experience to my students and to students all over the country, and to make connections between learning and life experiences while they learn the skills taught in their schools. Experiencing the challenges and teamwork of the race firsthand will help me bring this valid teaching tool to the classroom”.

Martha is married and has 3 children. She also shares her home with a Siberian Husky, many cats and a horse.

Blynne Froke
Blynne lives in Northern California. She has been teaching for 22 years and is currently a High School teacher for at-risk students. She’s been teaching the Iditarod in her classroom for the past 3 years. She focuses her lessons on goal-setting, problem-solving, teamwork and leadership skills. She and her students explore all aspects of the Iditarod from race strategies, weather prediction, and musher experiences. Blynne says, “ They like me sit on the edge of their seats awaiting the next step of this amazing adventure.
Blynnes hobbies (other than the Iditarod) are knitting, reading, writing and running trails with her dog. She has completed two half marathons and is currently training for her third. Blynne is married with 2 children. She sure sounds like one busy woman.

Sally Simon
Sally is from New York. She teaches 6th grade enrichment and advanced math in Hendrick Hudson Schools about an hour north of New York City. She became interested in the

Target® Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™ program 3 years ago when Hugh Neff (musher) came to her school and told her about the program. Sally then attended the Winter Educators Conference where she learned so much and became addicted to the race. She knew she had to apply and try to this special position.
Sally says she’s always had goals in her life and “they’re what makes us grow as people”. She says her goals have changed as she grows older. When she was young her goals were school based. Then they were family based. Now she’s beginning to make goals that are based on working with a team. Her goal now is still to be the best she can but to be a team player. She also bases her Iditarod lessons on a TEAMWORK acronym she developed. Each letter is part of a process that can be used to accomplish goals and solve problems as a team. It is: T=Target a goal, E=Evaluate skills, A=assign roles, M=make a plan, W=work together, O=Observe results, R=Reevaluate, and K=Keep at it.
Sally is married and has 2 sons, and 3 dogs. She participates in an unusual sport called fencing (epee). Do you know what fencing is? She also loves to travel and learn new things on her computer.

I think it would be so much fun to be in one of their classrooms? Do you know of a special teacher that would make a good Target® Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™?  If so, please encourage him/her to apply. Maybe next year, I’ll be writing about your teacher.

See you out on the trail,
Gypsy