Linda Fenton and Jim Deprez will be sharing the broad spectrum of duties that fall under the heading of Iditarod Education.  Coinciding with the beginning of a new school year, Iditarod announced the co-directorship effective the first of September. 

Likely their names sound familiar.  They’ve both served as Teacher on the Trail™ and have taken on a myriad of other duties since being on the trail.  Their continued involvement since serving on the trail and their leadership into the future is much appreciated.

Linda Fenton, who now resides in Hayward, Wisconsin, served as the 2013 Teacher on the Trail.  She taught 3rd grade for many years at the Waupaca Learning Center in Waupaca and has since served as the Gifted and Talented coordinator for the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe School in Hayward.  Having owned and operated the Namekagon Cone in her home town of Hayward, ice cream is her specialty.

Jim Deprez, residing in Hilliard, Ohio has the distinction of being the only Teacher on the Trail to hold the position for two years – 2021 and 2022.  COVID hit as Jim was chosen for the job.  With the health and well-being of everyone as a top priority, Iditarod altered the race route in 2021 to the Gold Trail Loop and embarked on a rigorous testing program for anyone going to the trail.  Jim chose to defer his trail experience to 2022.  He populated the EDU Teacher on the Trail web page with lessons and race information for two years during a time when most teaching was done virtually.

Deprez teaches 3rd grade in Hilliard, Ohio School district.  Growing up in Massachusetts and then attending Ohio State, Jim confesses to being an avid New England and Buckeye sports fan.  Deprez has coached his daughter’s youth soccer team.

Linda is the managing editor of the EDU newsletter published monthly during the school year.  She has served as the facilitator for many winter conferences for Iditarod Educators.  Fenton serves on the Teacher on the Trail selection committee.  She also pens for Zuma, the most senior K9 reporter. 

Jim organized and coordinated the lower 48 summer Iditarod Educators Conference held during the summer of 2023 in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.  He will be serving on the Teacher on the Trail selection committee and planning future conferences.  Deprez is also involved in the writing letters to mushers initiative and organizes the adopt a rookie program.

The co-directors have both used Iditarod as a theme in their own classrooms.  They know firsthand the motivation race based activities generate amongst students.  Children are excited and captivated by the real life learning provided when using Iditarod as a theme.  It’s something kids share with their parents and soon the whole family gets involved in tracking mushers and learning through that experience.  Fenton and Deprez are focused on getting Iditarod based curriculum into the hands of all teachers.  They know that when teachers become excited about learning, their enthusiasm overflows to their students.

Jane Holmes served as Iditarod’s EDU director for four years, taking the position in the fall of 2020.   She led with energy, enthusiasm and passion through COVID, a time that challenged all educators.  Holmes, a teacher who used Iditarod as a theme in her classroom, served as the Teacher on the Trail in 2008.  Jane is stepping down from the EDU directorship to pursue other interests.  Many thanks to Jane for her leadership and sharing her vision with Iditarod Educators around the world.

Jane says,  “The Iditarod EDU, it’s programs and products, are the result of teamwork.  Dozens of past Teachers on the Trail and other teachers volunteer their talents and time to create opportunities for educators to incorporate the engaging, exciting Iditarod Sled Dog Race into their classroom curriculum. I am grateful to have been the director for this amazing group for 4 years.  Together, we made changes, added new programs, and continued our core programs as well.  It’s been the most fun job I have ever had; it’s a job that combines work with my passion for sled dogs.  I am changing my role in the EDU to “staff”, stepping down but not stepping away.  I’m excited to spend time on volunteer opportunities for the Iditarod as well as get involved with many more races around Alaska. I can’t wait to see where the Iditarod EDU goes next with Linda and Jim.”

Back in the 90’s, Iditarod Staff member Lois Harter was tasked with Iditarod’s education efforts.  She penned for K9 reporter Zuma and published Zuma’s Paw Prints to share race information with teachers and students around the world.  She organized the first Winter Iditarod Educator’s conference in 1999  and the first summer conference for 2003.  Before Iditarod Education and race stats became a part of Iditarod’s webpage, Lois and other Iditarod staff would FAX race updates to teachers. 

Diane Johnson served as EDU Director from 2005 through the race in 2020 and assisted Harter prior to taking the director position.  Johnson began volunteering for the race in 1999 and attended the very first Iditarod Winter Educator’s Conference that year.  She was selected to serve as the second Teacher on the Trail in 2000 and led the first Iditarod Summer Teacher’s Conference in 2003 and many to follow.  Johnson was at the helm of EDU through the process of building the EDU webpage where literally hundreds of lessons are cataloged and stored for teachers to access and use.  Her initiatives are too numerous to mention but certainly her travelling quilt project was very popular.

It’s difficult to credit one specific individual for the birth of Iditarod Education.  It likely started with a teacher trying to motivate kids to read.  If that’s the case, one name comes to mind – Peg Stout.  Stout, the mother of DeeDee Jonrowe, was a librarian for the Anchorage Public Schools.  She was always looking for ways to get more students, especially boys, interested in reading.  Peg saw Iditarod as the answer.  She started the Reading Race to Nome and then added the Geography Race to Nome to her list of Iditarod Inspired learning activities.

The Teacher on the Trail program began back in 1999 when Andrea (Finney) Auf der Heyde convinced the Iditarod Executive Director, Stan Hooley, to put a teacher out on the trail as a direct link between the race and classrooms around the world.  As an Elementary teacher, Finney knew the value of the race in motivating students.  She believed in and practiced CLASP (connecting learning assures successful students).  The real life applications that Iditarod offeres give teachers powerful tools that connect with every aspect of the curriculum.

As the twenty-sixth Iditarod Teacher on the Trail, Maggie Hamilton of Indiana will populate the Iditarod EDU page with twice monthly posts.  A lesson plan will be featured in A Classroom Without Walls early in the month.  Later in the month, More to Discover will share Iditarod and Serum Run facts, information on training and volunteer positions, as well as ways she’s using the race in her classroom and school wide.  Visit the site often for exciting ideas of how to use Iditarod to motivate your students.