Orah Dee Clark (1875–1965) was an American

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

. She was the first superintendent for the first school in

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the List of cities in Alaska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of ...

. In 2009, she was named into the

Alaska Women's Hall of Fame The Alaska Women's Hall of Fame (AWHF) recognizes women natives or residents of the U.S. state of Alaska for their significant achievements or statewide contributions. It was conceived by the board of directors of the Alaska Women's Network (AWN) ...

Early life and work

Orah Dee Clark was born in

Firth, Nebraska Firth is a village in Lancaster County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Lincoln, Nebraska Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 649 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the village ...

. Clark started teaching in 1906, which is when she moved to

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. She worked in Kodiak, Anvik, and

Tanana, Alaska Tanana ( in Koyukon) is a city in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. At the 2010 census the population was 246, down from 308 in 2000. It was formerly known as ''Clachotin'', adopted by Canadian French. Jules Jetté ...

. Clark was the first

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Building superintendent, a manager, maintenance or repair person, custodian or janitor, especially in the United States; sometimes shortened to "super" *Prison warden or superintendent, a prison administrator *Soprin ...

of the first school in

starting in 1915. After teaching in Anchorage, she co-founded schools along the

Alaska Railroad The Alaska Railroad is a Class II railroad that operates freight and passenger trains in the state of Alaska. The railroad's mainline runs between Seward, Alaska, Seward on the southern coast and Fairbanks, Alaska, Fairbanks, near the center of ...

. She would teach throughout Alaska, including the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before Alaska Purchase, 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain ...

. She would never marry, per law that women teachers either had to be "married to the students" or leave the field to be married. She was a proponent of

desegregated Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...

schools where

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

and white students could learn together. As of her retirement, in 1944, she was teaching in

Moose Pass, Alaska Moose Pass is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. The population was 219 at the 2010 census, up from 206 in 2000. Geography Moose Pass is located in the north-central part of the Kenai Peninsula at ...

Later life and legacy

Clark Middle School, which opened in 1959, was named after her. In 1962, she was awarded the Scroll of Honor by the Cook Inlet Historical Society. In 1980, the school where she served as the first superintendent, the Pioneer School House, was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. In 2009, Clark was named into the

. Her papers are held in the collection of the

University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-, National Sea Grant College Program, sea-, and National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, space-grant research university in ...

.Orah Dee Clark Papers 1913-1962, University of Alaska Fairbanks The Anchorage Woman's Club awards a high school scholarship for boys and girls named after Clark. The

Anchorage Museum The Anchorage Museum is a large art, history, ethnography, ecology and science museum located in a modern building in the heart of Anchorage, Alaska. It is dedicated to studying and exploring the land, peoples, art and history of Alaska. The mu ...

holds a collection of photographs once owned by Clark.

References

External links

Oral history with Orah Dee Clark
from the University of Alaska Fairbanks {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Orah Dee 1875 births 1965 deaths Founders of American schools and colleges 20th-century American educators People from Anchorage, Alaska People from Lancaster County, Nebraska School superintendents in Alaska 20th-century American women educators

Early life and work

Later life and legacy

Further reading

References

External links