New math teacher arrives at SHS

Andi+Doerflinger%2C+the+new+teacher+at+SHS%2C+in+her+classroom+teaching+math+to+her+students.+Photo+by+Rayanne+Alick.

Photo by Rayanne Alick

Andi Doerflinger, the new teacher at SHS, in her classroom teaching math to her students.

By RAYANNE ALICK, staff writer

Andi Doerflinger is the new academic support teacher at SHS, replacing Dawn Pomerening, who has moved to the elementary school.

She teaches math fundamentals – strengthening basic math skills; arts and culture – creating culturally oriented projects; and academic support – providing help for every class and finding answers to every question students have.

“My favorite part is watching a students face when they finally understand something for the first time, because they get really excited and it’s fun to watch,” she said  

In Ms. Doerflinger’s perspective, having a job that helps students better their understanding is really cool. She is currently going back and forth with her teaching job and the programming job at Ptarmigan hall. Even though she is taking on two jobs at the same time, she says it’s the least amount she has been working in the past four years.

She works eight hours a day as a teacher, and as a programmer she gets 12 hours a week, which is a good balance, she says. This is the first year that she is not coaching either basketball or track.

Ms. Doerflinger was born and raised in Juneau. At 30 years old, she has been to three colleges and has had two previous teaching jobs in Huslia and at Mirror Lake Middle School in Chugiak. She spent two years at The University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA, where she played softball. She then transferred to the University of Montana to get a degree in anthropology with a certificate in forensics. She finished off college in Juneau with a master’s degree in secondary education.