Dear Families and Friends of PNA,

Well, this is a new location for me. Jennie thought I might write the letter this week, and I said - why not! My daughter Claire graduated on Tuesday, wrapping up a series of lasts for me as a parent: last Spring trip send-off, last parent lunch, last carpool drive. Soon I'll wrap up my 11 years of board work at the year's last board meeting in June. And this is my last issue of the FUNd Stuff as a regular writer/editor - so why not sit in this spot for once? 

It feels like an apt transition. I have spent years sussing out PNA's voice with the Board in strategic planning sessions, with staff in marketing meetings, with teachers in desk-side conversations, with parents in the parking lot. And I've spent the last five years hashing and mashing that voice with the best collaborator and co-pilot imaginable, Jennie, to share the Voice with FUNd Stuff readers. It has been a delight to frame PNA's endeavors, philosophy, successes (and misses) in a way that helps define both independent education and PNA's mission to anybody willing to open our 160 or so issues. But now I am about to be a regular citizen, and I can use my own voice; I am not-so-secretly thrilled to have the opportunity to let it be carried further than normal, this once. 

What would I have done without PNA? PNA has been my second home for thirteen years, epitomizing everything a home should be: a safe haven; a place you can be your best - and worst; the point of departure for all manner of adventures. PNA has been a second school to me as well - my continuing education. PNA's welcoming and open nature has allowed me to dip into almost every aspect of what it takes to run a school; from PA meetings to staff meetings to board meetings, I think I am one of the few who has done each on a regular basis, one year or another. But more than that, PNA is a school in the best sense of the word: it's a community of learners, where all can learn from everyone. PNA's parents have been a bastion of inspiration, its students ever-surprising and illuminating. For my kids, PNA has offered guidance, support, responsibility, challenge, and love. Their years here have made an indelible difference in creating the foundation of their character; this, more than anything they've done or learned, will influence everything that comes after, instilling in their choices and decisions a profound regard for fairness, kindness, inclusion, purpose, curiosity, excellence, and challenge.

What made this possible is community. While it's true my kids' most direct and constant contact was with their teachers, it's also true that PNA's custodian, Joe Full, has been smiling and saying "how are you today" to me and my kids, many days a week, for thirteen solid years, that parents - current and alumni - have been liberal with both warm hugs and stern finger-wags, and that Silas, three years after graduation, has walked in to any PNA classroom and instantly been invited to either join in, or teach, or both. In my mind, this is an impact that cannot be denied and should not be overlooked. PNA's strength is its unity of vision and purpose - the community's collective commitment to PNA's ideals.

Thank you, PNA, for creating this wonderful environment that my family has had the good fortune to be a part of for so long. Thank you for asking more of yourselves, more of your students, and more of your parents. Thank you for offering them more as well. Thank you for letting our children be as much of themselves as they can be. 

Lastly, thank you for forging a path for independent education in Alaska. Anchorage deserves and requires it. 

Congratulations on your first twenty years, PNA. In my new, permanent role of Alumni Parent, I can't wait to congratulate you for each of the next twenty - and beyond. 

Amy