Mentor Biography

A graduate of the University of Alaska, Anchorage Lura went on to become a Master of Teaching at Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage. She has spent the last seventeen years teaching in Wasilla, Alaska. Lura taught Science, Math, Social Studies, and Language Arts to grades 6-8 in Colony Middle School. Next she taught Applied Technology (grades 6-8), Science, World Geography and Language Arts (grade 7) in Teeland Middle School. Most recently she taught the 5th grade at Snowshoe Elementary School.

Lura has a passion for teaching the skills necessary for employability within the context of all subjects. She works to help students acquire the academic, social, and ethical skills that are necessary to obtain and keep good employment. This area has given her years of challenge and reward. She also has a "soft spot" for science and her coursework in oceanography, environmental research, geology and other areas has led her all over the nation, and even beyond. Prior to becoming a classroom teacher, Lura was a counselor. Her specialty was in the areas of parenting, classroom management and behavior intervention. These skills have been extremely handy in her own classrooms, as you can imagine! She has been fortunate to be recognized as a Presidential Awardee for Science Teaching, has gone to Japan courtesy of the Fulbright Foundation, presented nationally for both the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics and the National Science Teachers Association, and received the BP Teacher of Excellence Award this year.