The 2010 Winter Conference will be held in Anchorage March 2 – 5. Participants will attend sessions that will motivate them professionally and provide them with immediate lesson ideas for the race.  An advantage to attending this workshop is that one can also see the start and the restart of the race.  (March 6 and 7) Anyone— teacher or race fan– attending the start of the race should attend teacher conference events.  For more information, email. Watch the website for the conference agenda and speaker list to be published soon.  Do not miss these events.

If you are looking for a summer adventure, join us June 20 – 28th for the experience of a life time!  Stay at a musher’s kennel.  Learn about Iditarod, sled dogs, mushing, and Alaska.  Build an engaging curriculum for your students.  Learn more about our conferences.

Why Attend a Conference?

The Iditarod Education Department

• Strives to assist educators in connecting the Iditarod to content and cultural standards required by each state and according to NCLB.
• Recognizes that today’s teacher must facilitate learning and empower students to achieve.  What a teacher teaches must be aligned to the curriculum one teaches.
• Dedicates energy to helping teachers be better teachers

We are dedicated to empowering educators to use best practices of education using research based instructional methods, develop quality standards driven lessons, create units of study that engaging students in the learning process, encourage them to practice basic skills, and to encourage the use of technology as a teaching tool and a tool for students to use as they complete lessons and projects.

• Iditarod is a tool of instruction that leads students to academic success.
• University credit is offered through the University of Alaska, Anchorage.
• Although these conferences are intended for teachers, race fans are welcome to attend as well.

Still wondering Why You Should Attend?  Here’s what one of our ‘campers’ had to say about our summer camp.

Joy Davis, Educational Journalist

When I first read the information about summer camp I thought that it would be something fun to do ‘sometime.’ Little did I know that it would be this past summer. My husband encouraged me to sign up.

I am not a camper so I was hesitant. I had no idea of what to pack. Did I even have the right clothes? I made lists and more lists. Every time that I talked myself into going I would come up with reasons to stay home. The dogs needed me. It would be awfully expensive to fly to Alaska. And how was I going to get around? What was I going to do in my free time? Could we really afford this?

We concluded that I could not afford not to go. I needed to find my smile again. Let me tell you that this was the best investment that I had made in myself in a long time. I am finishing a master degree while working long hours as a mild interventions teacher at the high school level. I needed to find ‘me.’

I could talk for days about my experiences. But I will just list the highlights in no special order.

New friends

I met other teachers from across the United States. We shared a common experience and began lasting friendships.

An earthquake

On the second day at the Dream a Dream Dog Farm we had an earthquake. It registered 5.7. It cracked the wall above the window in the sleeping area.

The mushers

Attending the musher’s picnic was a memorable event. Up close and personal with the celebrities (in human form) of this sport. Everyone was so friendly. My students can’t believe that I know these people.

The dogs

Being pulled in an ATV by a team of 16 dogs is like nothing else you will experience!!

Challenging myself

I never dreamed that I would walk across a pole 40 feet in the air. Why would I even want to do this? I am glad that I made myself do it. I know that I can accomplish more than I believe I can. I am tougher in Alaska!

If you want to learn more about the Iditarod and/or yourself, then head north to Alaska for the teacher’s summer camp. You will have an experience that will be un’fur’ gettable.

***************

Enjoy this slide show from summer camp!

[[Show as slideshow]]

Why attend Summer Camp? Click ‘play’.  To return to this website, use the back arrow key!  Music by Hobo Jim and used with his permission.

The workshop experience will be held June 21 – 29 in Wasilla, Alaska. The first three days of the conference will be held at the Dream a Dream Dog Farm in Willow, Alaska. Conference where participants will be staying at the kennel over night the first 3 days of the camp experience, providing the opportunity to learn firsthand about living in Alaska and training sled dogs. 1990 Yukon Quest Champion and Iditarod Musher, Vern Halter’s Iditarod 101 provides summer camp participants with an in depth look at what it takes to race in Iditarod.

At the kennel, campers will learn all about taking care of the amazing athletes. Special sessions at the camp will assist teachers in connecting the theme of Iditarod and Alaska to their cultural and content standards. Develop skills in technology, lesson design, and create lessons and activities in your content area. Meet mushers, authors, dogs, Iditarod staff, Target® 2010 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™, Herb Brambley, and past Teacher on the Trail™ alumni, and race volunteers. This unforgettable experience in Alaska will empower you as an educator, motivating you to take the steps on the ‘trail’ with us so that the curriculum you teach enhances the education of your students.

View the camp schedule by Clicking here (2009summercamp09.pdf)

Registration form, click here! (summerregistration09.pdf)

Learn more about our camp by visiting the 2008 Camp Blog.  Click here!

University credit is available.  2 Graduate Hours, $89 per class.

Do you have questions about the teacher’s conference? Are you interested in attending? Contact us today! Click here!

Click on images for a larger picture of some of the camp experiences:

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Fieldtrip: Iditarod Headquarters, lunch, and Martin Buser’s Kennel

7:30 Meet in the Millennium Hotel Lobby. Board the Bus for the Fieldtrip.

8:00: Bus leaves

Iditarod Headquarters: Vet Check!

• Observe the vets and mushers at work. Mushers will be arriving HQ

throughout the morning. The veterinarian staff will be performing the final

examinations of the dogs.

• Visit Iditarod Trail Committee Headquarters Museum and Gift Shop

Lunch

Kennel Tour: — Iditarod Four-Time Champion Martin Buser, Big Lake, Alaska.

* Tour Martin’s kennel and facility. Discover what it takes to raise, train, and run

Iditarod. Meet his canine athletes. Martin will share highlights and stories from the

trail, providing valuable information as he gives a personal, behind the scenes glimpse

of living in Alaska and running dogs.

http://www.buserdog.com

The exact return time will be determined by weather and other factors. Estimated time of arrival back at the Millennium is between 4:00 – 5:00 PM.

Fee: $125.00 per person. Limited seating. Book in January/February.

Call: 605 228 6071

Friday, March 6, 2009 Iditarod Speaker Events and Book Fair and Author Signing

$25.00 per ticket, per speaker.

Call 605 228 6071 to pay by credit card in advance of event or purchase tickets March 3 – 6 at the Millennium. Watch this section of the website for information should we be close to sell out on the speaker events!

9:00 AM: Special Iditarod Speaker:: To be announced

10:15- 11:15: Lisa Frederic, Author and Iditarod Musher

http://www.lisafrederic.com

Learn about Lisa’s journey along the Iditarod Trail and what it takes to train for Iditarod.

11:30 – 1:00: Book Sale and Author Signing: 3rd Floor Millennium

*Books by famous ‘Alaskan/Iditarod’ authors will be for sale. Many authors will be present to autograph the books. (Book Fair 11:30 – 1:00) Join us! FREE event. Books will be available for purchase. Authors will sign the books!

1:00 PM Aliy Zirkle: Yukon Quest Champion and Iditarod Musher

Learn about Aliy at her website: www.aliyzirkle.com Aliy says, “I consider the Iditarod not only a competition of the highest caliber, but also a celebration of true Arctic transportation. “I appreciate the trail crossing the magnificent state of Alaska and can think of no better mode of transportation I’d prefer than a dog team.”

2:30 – 3:30 PM: Dr. Stuart Nelson, Jr., DVM, Iditarod’s Chief Veterinarian. An informational slide show presentation featuring a glimpse of the Iditarod Trail and first hand experiences before, during, and after the race, provide the viewer with the discovery of the contributing factors that lead to the top notch, healthy canine athletes that run Iditarod. Learn about the race. Discover valuable information about what it takes to raise, feed, and care for the true athletes of the race, the dogs.

*** Teacher’s workshop: March 3 – 6, 2009, Anchorage, Alaska.

For additional information, click here!

Winter Conference – March 2 – 6, 2009

Head north in February to discover ways to impact instructional practices using Iditarod as a theme. Conference sessions and event speakers will inspire you as an educator and challenge you professionally and personally. Meet the Teacher on the Trail and finalists for next year’s teacher.

Discover standards-driven curriculum connections for classroom instruction and strategies that help students be academically successful. A bonus of attending this four-day conference is the opportunity to attend the Musher Drawing Banquet, the start, and the restart of the race. University credit is available at this conference.

For the Conference Schedule (PDF) Click here!

Registration Form, (PDF) Click here!

Events open to public, Fieldtrip – March 4 and Event Speakers March 6 (PDF) Click Here: Tickets for Speakers and Fieldtrip

Summer Conference – June 21 to 29, 2009: Summer Camp for Teachers!

Pack your bags for camp – Idita-Summer Camp for Educators! Join us for a week’s worth of Iditarod and Alaska summer camp adventures. Spend three nights sleeping at an Iditarod musher’s kennel. Listen to the dogs howl in the early morning hours as you begin your day’s activities which have been designed to provide opportunities to learn, first hand, about raising and training sled dogs as well as running Iditarod.

Field trips, authors, Iditarod speakers and mushers will provide “teacher-campers” with knowledge to build engaging classroom curriculum. Teachers will depart after a week-long conference with the ability to harness a dog and keep a classroom engaged with a “sled bag full” of important information and renewed sense of teaching enthusiasm! University credit is available.

SUMMER CAMP REGISTRATION MATERIALS WILL BE UPLOADED SOON. CHECK BACK for information!

Learn about the 2008 Summer Camp! Click here!

Registration Form (PDF) Click here!

2009 Camp Schedule (PDF) Click Herer! (2009summercamp09.pdf)

Why Attend a Conference?

The Iditarod Education Department strives to assist educators in connecting the Iditarod to content and cultural standards required by each state and according to NCLB.

We are dedicated to empowering educators to use best practices of education using research based instructional methods, develop quality standards driven lessons, create units of study that engaging students in the learning process, encourage them to practice basic skills, and to encourage the use of technology as a teaching tool and a tool for students to use as they complete lessons and projects.

Iditarod is a tool of instruction that leads students to academic success. University credit offered through the University of Alaska, Anchorage. Although these conferences are intended for teachers, race fans are welcome to attend as well.

Contact Information

Iditarod Education Department
1412 South Melgaard Road
Aberdeen, South Dakota 57401

Diane Johnson, Director

Click to Email
(605) 228-6071

November is an exciting month for classrooms around the world as they as they begin to check www.iditarod.com to see which mushers have signed up to run the 2008 Iditarod. To read the bios about the mushers who have signed up, click on the menu tab, “2009 Iditarod” and then click, “Musher Listing“.Iditarod begins on the first Saturday in March each year and ends when the last musher arrives in Nome. The race is run on one of two trails. In the even numbered years, such as 2010, it follows a northern route. On the odd years, such as in 2009, the race follows a southern route. LEARN MORE about the trail.

Many educators are planning their curriculum units, aligning their lessons to the state content and cultural standards, and starting to introduce the race as a topic to capture the interest of the students. To learn about educational connections, the FOR TEACHERS section of the website provides many ideas. Additional helpful hints include:

• Discover curriculum connections at the Teacher on the Trail^TM section of the website. Last summer, Iarget 2009 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail^TM Cathy Walters, began placing lesson ideas on the website. All teachers, regardless of their grade level or teaching area will find ideas that can be used in the classroom. Each month, Cathy will place more ideas on website. During the race, Cathy will be flying from checkpoint to checkpoint with the Iditarod Air Force and reporting her observations and experiences, as well as providing lesson connections for students. Don’t miss Cathy’s lessons and journal!
• Looking for a Service Learning project? “Books to the Trail” is a project that brings new books to students in Alaska. For more information, read about this and other projects.
• Are you looking for a musher tracking form for students to use during the race? Are you looking for ideas on writing to mushers? For more information, CLICK HERE!
• Follow the journey of the Iditarod Traveling Quilt. CLICK HERE!
• Consult all areas of the For Teachers section of the website to discover information about our teaching projects including our Iditarod Ready! Storm Ready! curriculum materials. CLICK HERE!
• Contact us if you have questions or comments: click here
• Are you an Iditarod Insider subscriber? Iditarod Insider is an engaging teaching tool that brings not only the sights of the race to the classroom — but the sounds of the race. Each day during the race, video segments are placed on Iditarod Insider, providing the subscriber with race video reports from the checkpoints. A library of past race and historical video segments provide a great deal of information about the race. Iditarod Insider contains an educational materials section that hosts curriculum connections for pre K- high school students in all curriculum areas. The fly by map is a favorite tool of students. No doubt about it, Iditarod Insider is a tool that enhances the learning and is a lot of fun. To learn more about Iditarod Insider, CLICK HERE!

Are you new to using Iditarod as a classroom teaching tool?
A mere glance at the variety of lesson ideas and projects can be overwhelming to the educator. Where does one start? How does one get connected to the race? Follow these easy steps:

1. Choose specific standards or a curriculum area as your focal point. Search through our curriculum materials for ideas that match your focus area and are relevant to what your students need to learn.

2. Discover ideas from our Teacher on the Trail^TM and follow her during the race. Her journal will provide you with insight into the race.

3. Make a literature and writing connection by choosing Iditarod related books to read to the students or for the students to read on their own. Need information? CLICK HERE!

4. Plan on following mushers during the race. “Adopt” 3 or 4 mushers to follow as a class or have each student adopt their own favorite musher to follow. Check the website many times a day during the race and record the musher’s progress on a map. Have students write about the musher and the race.

5. Contact the Iditarod Education Department and let us know you are using the race with students. We’d enjoy hearing about your lessons. If you have questions, contact us. We are happy to assist you any way we can!

6. After the race, reflect on what worked with your students and the academic progress of your students. Begin planning lessons for the next year.

7. Consider joining us at an Iditarod Teacher’s Conference. Iditarod holds two conferences in Alaska each year, one in June and one in February. Both conferences are excellent opportunities for educators to earn university credit while learning first hand about the Iditarod.

Iditarod is a tried and true teaching tool that is used by teachers in preschool through university level. Teachers from Alaska and around the world have discovered that Iditarod ‘hooks’ students into a learning adventure that empowers students to be academically successful while being engaged in adventure learning projects. Iditarod is an adventure learning opportunity, allowing students to practice basic curriculum while learning about a real event in real time via technology, and provides many opportunities for students to transition the learning to their own level or community. Iditarod is more than a race. Iditarod is an educational and motivational tool that results in academic success.

Don’t miss the opportunity to join us for the adventure!

Camp isn’t just for kids! It is for teachers, too!

Each summer, thousands of youngsters head off to summer camp. The camp experience isn’t just for kids, though, not when it comes to helping ‘Iditarod’ bound teachers connect the race with their curriculum.

On June 22, educators met at Iditarod Trail Headquarters in Wasilla to begin their week long experience at Iditarod’s Summer Camp for Teachers. Teacher campers, representing both middle school/high school and elementary school, journeyed Susan Whiton and Vern Halter’s Dream a Dream Dog Farm where the next three days of sessions were held. Susan, a veterinarian shared information about dog care and Vern presented several sessions highlighting information about dog mushing and Iditarod.

Staying overnight at the kennel allowed campers the opportunity to immerse themselves in the experience to gain a richer understanding of what it is like to raise sled dogs. Each day began with a walk in the woods with puppies. Campers then learned firsthand how to put on harnesses, hook a team to the gangline, put booties on a dog’s feet, and what it felt like to ride the ’summer sled’, a wheeled cart powered by energetic huskies.

Sessions were held to help teachers enrich their curriculum. Target® 2009 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail, Cathy Walters, and Target ®2008 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail, Jane Blaile were featured speakers and experts in lesson design. 2006 Teacher on the Trail, Terrie Hanke, assisted in the facilitation of the conference and shared her expertise in the classroom and experiences from the trail. 2000 Teacher on the Trail, Diane Johnson, and Alaskan educators Shannon Keene and Sara Lamont, led sessions and assisted the campers throughout the week.

Special fieldtrips and speakers helped campers gain a rich knowledge base. Speakers included: Author and musher, Gary Paulsen, Iditarod mushers, Dee Dee Jonrowe and Sue Allen, Sonny Chambers, a race volunteer, the K-9 Fairies, Arctic explorer and dog musher, Pam Flowers, and Iditarod Chief Veterinarian, Dr. Stuart Nelson, Jr.

The summer camp concluded at the June 28 Volunteer Picnic and 2009 Iditarod Sign Up, giving the campers the opportunity to meet race volunteers, fans, Iditarod staff, and of course, mushers!

Start planning and join us at next summer’s camp to be held June 20 – 28, 2009. To read more about the camp experiences, visit the following sites:
Zuma’s Paw Prints: Click here and scroll to find articles about the picnic and the camp experiences.

Summer 2008 Iditarod Summer Camp Blog: Click here!

Click here for further information about future summer camp opportunities.

Click on images for a larger picture:

A Review By Bonnie Edwards

This adventure came to be by my personal interest in raising and training “working dogs”. I had raised three Seeing Eye dogs for Southeastern Guide Dogs, in Palmetto, Florida over a period of 6 years. My interest in the Alaskan Huskies came after a conversation with a friend and teacher next door who spoke of the literary story of “Balto” a sled dog that helped save the town of Nome, AK during a diphtheria epidemic in the early 1900’s. That was a life changing conversation.

Determined to check out these phenomenal athletes I charted course for Alaska to attend a weeklong summer workshop conducted by the Iditarod Education Department. This workshop began in the Dream a Dream Kennels of Vern Halter and Susan Whitten, both former Iditarod mushers. Vern is a lawyer and his wife Susan went back to veterinarian school to better service her dogs and support other Alaskan kennels.

As a student of the Iditarod, I lived with the dogs, feed them daily, exercised them, and cleaned up the dog yard…yes and that means picking up the p_ _ p! We lived and breathed the life of musher, building a relationship with the dogs, even the precious puppies with our daily walks in the woods.

Vern had built a large beautiful barn style two-story building, which on the top floor housed two complete living suites with bedrooms, private baths kitchens, and a common great room. Below the first floor was home to the vet clinic, food preparation area, storage for winter clothing, boots, and hats, and best of all a large classroom. In the classroom with its 20 foot ceilings, Susan had carefully painted on one wall a 20 x 10 foot mural of Alaska and the Iditarod trail marked in RED complete with checkpoints. On another wall was a life-size painting of Vern behind the sled with a team of dogs running full speed toward you! Hanging from the ceiling were Vern’s and Susan’s race bibs from previous races that they had completed. On a table there were more trophies than could be easily counted. Around the perimeter of the room was the “trail” equipment. We got to stand on a real sled, try on Vern’s heavy red fur trimmed parka that must have weighed 20 pounds, and beaver gloves that covered my arms up to the elbow. In the same area was also all the required equipment that had to be carried in the sled when traveling with a team of dogs, such as the cook stove, liquid heat bottles, towlines, an ax, dog bowls, and a large cooler! What is a cooler doing in the sled at -20 degrees below?

Feeding 16 hungry dogs on the Trail is a challenge, food must be previously prepared and flown to checkpoints. Ice is then melted in the metal 5 gallon bucket called the “cook stove” to become water, meats of high protein and fats are added to create a thick meat stew which is mixed in the “cooler” which now becomes an insulated warmer. The dogs burn almost 3,000+ calories a day and are ravenous for a warm meal in their tummies before they bed down on their straw beds for a rest.

Other equipment necessities were the headlamp with halogen bulbs with two weeks worth of batteries…to see at night. Remember during this time of the year it is darker longer during daylight time. At 12:00 noon the sun does not rise much higher on the horizon than what a “sunset” looks like for us.

One of the most important requirements is the “dog diary” containing all the vet records for each dog on the team. This keeps a checkpoint-to-checkpoint data flow between one vet’s check and another vet’s check for each dog. Things like the dog’s attitude, sensitivity in joints or feet, clear lungs, appetite, and over all appearance are recorded. The musher relies greatly on these volunteer vets to assist them in the wellness of their dogs. If there is a dog in question both the vet and musher will work together in the best interest of the dog. Mushers have been known to put a dog in the sled and carry them to the next checkpoint if they become injured or cannot continue the race. These dogs, when dropped, are well cared for nourished then flown back to Anchorage to meet up with their musher after the race.

The best part of this workshop was the direct interaction and presentations with all the “people in the know”, such as a longtime Trail volunteer who came prepared with slides of checkpoints along the Trial and stories of life on the Trail. DeeDee Jonrowe who lived down the dirt road from Vern stopped by to meet us teachers. Wow!

Stu Nelson, Head Vet for the Iditarod, that explained the details and rules that are put into place to protect the dog athletes was just remarkable. Experienced mushers such as Ali Zirkle from Fairbanks, AK made a special trip to Wasilla, AK to just speak with us. She brought slides of her kennel and spoke of her experiences along the Iditarod Trail.

Midway in the workshop we left the Dream-a-Dream Kennels and headed toward town to visit Jon and Jona VanZyle, the famous Iditarod Artist, and their kennels of Alaskan Huskies. These kind people opened their “park like” kennels and home for our viewing then held a reception for us with food and drink while we walked through their studio viewing Jon’s beautiful artwork, all the while telling us of stories “mushing” with their dogs, and life in Alaska. They both signed books and prints carefully wrapping them for the long ride home.

One of the most interesting experiences was the Alaskan Native Heritage Museum on the outskirts of Anchorage. We spent half a day there viewing exhibits of the many tribes, walking the grounds with a guide again telling stories, sharing artifacts, displays of homes, and living environments for the diverse peoples of Alaska. I left with a greater understanding as to the tenacity of these people who endure the extreme conditions and yet love their land and are one in nature and spirit. I gathered treasures, many videos, and books of native Alaska in hopes to be able to share a small bit of these fantastic people with my students.

On the last day of the workshop, there was a “Musher’s Sign Up” picnic at the Iditarod Headquarters in Wasilla, AK. The relaxed atmosphere and warm welcome in this casual setting was so like the people of Alaska. The lawn was manicured with newly sprouting green grass, which contrasted the large tan two-story log building with a green metal roof of the Iditarod Headquarters. The colorful red and white petunias and yellow and purple pansies dotted the flower gardens and window boxes, as a bronze sculpture of Joe Redington, Sr., Father of the Iditarod, proudly welcomed you along the front sidewalk. All this while Joe’s grandson, Ryan Redington, was giving teachers a real ride behind a team of Iditarod dogs in training, and a new puppy litter slept in a fenced area nearby. This was a photo memory in my mind forever.

Strolling the grounds, mushers, friends, volunteers, and teachers were treated to a delicious barbecue. The teachers were given an unused Official Race Bib from the 2007 IDITAROD. We were freely walking among Iditarod icons and history makers. All came to sign up and meet their competition for the 2008 Iditarod Race. They were full of information for us teachers; Ken Anderson gave me a free journal he had written along the Trail in 2007. They all signed my BIB, along with Governor Sarah Palin! She was so very friendly, wearing just a dark pantsuit and white blouse with her hair neatly pulling up on her head. She is a mother of 4 children and recently I heard with one due in May. She was totally accessible No body guards!

Toward the end of the day we were invited to attend a special meeting held by the Iditarod Trail Committee and Directors regarding how to handle the press. Especially those that tend to stir up negative press due to lack of information. Our weeklong education provided the perfect opportunity to set the story “right”. This meeting helped us understand how to get the correct information out there.

This whirlwind of a week went by so fast and sadly was ending. We teachers came together as individuals from all walks of life and geographical locations. However we left with one common bond, the love for the dogs, and an appreciation of the spirit and endless determination of the people and dogs of the Iditarod. I will always remember this wonderful life changing experience.

A very special thanks to Diane Johnson, Iditarod Director of Education, and a former Teacher on the Trail for her vision and development of this 5 STAR teacher workshop. It has changed by life forever.

Winter Conference – March 2 – 6, 2009

Head north in February to discover ways to impact instructional practices using Iditarod as a theme. Conference sessions and event speakers will inspire you as an educator and challenge you professionally and personally. Meet the Teacher on the Trail and finalists for next year’s teacher.

Discover standards-driven curriculum connections for classroom instruction and strategies that help students be academically successful. A bonus of attending this four-day conference is the opportunity to attend the Musher Drawing Banquet, the start, and the restart of the race. University credit is available at this conference.

2008 Registration Materials.  2009Materials to be added soon.

• Download Registration Form (33k PDF)
• Download Conference Agenda (227k PDF)

Summer Conference – June 21 to 29, 2009: Summer Camp for Teachers!

Pack your bags for camp – Idita-Summer Camp for Educators! Join us for a week’s worth of Iditarod and Alaska summer camp adventures. Spend three nights sleeping at an Iditarod musher’s kennel. Listen to the dogs howl in the early morning hours as you begin your day’s activities which have been designed to provide opportunities to learn, first hand, about raising and training sled dogs as well as running Iditarod.

Field trips, authors, Iditarod speakers and mushers will provide “teacher-campers” with knowledge to build engaging classroom curriculum. Teachers will depart after a week-long conference with the ability to harness a dog and keep a classroom engaged with a “sled bag full” of important information and renewed sense of teaching enthusiasm! University credit is available.

2008 Registration Materials:

• Download Registration Form (21k PDF)
• Download Conference Agenda (383k PDF)

Why Attend a Conference?

The Iditarod Education Department strives to assist educators in connecting the Iditarod to content and cultural standards required by each state and according to NCLB.

We are dedicated to empowering educators to use best practices of education using research based instructional methods, develop quality standards driven lessons, create units of study that engaging students in the learning process, encourage them to practice basic skills, and to encourage the use of technology as a teaching tool and a tool for students to use as they complete lessons and projects.

Iditarod is a tool of instruction that leads students to academic success. University credit offered through the University of Alaska, Anchorage. Although these conferences are intended for teachers, race fans are welcome to attend as well.

Contact Information

Iditarod Education Department
1412 South Melgaard Road
Aberdeen, South Dakota 57401

Diane Johnson, Director of Education

Click here to email!
(605) 228-6071